Family Bonds
by Mercy P. Jones
Summary: After BtVS season5 and after 2nd XMen Movie. Dawn goes to live with her cousin in New York and is not happy about it. What happens when a man interested in her cousin suddenly becomes interested in her? And not in the boost your ego kinda way. DOBBY ROMY
1. The Smell Of Cheese Is A Bad Sign

AN: Just a new story I thought of. It's set just after Season 5 of BtVS and just after the 2nd X-Men movie. So both Buffy and Jean are dead.

Summary: Set after BtVS season5 and after 2nd X-Men Movie. Dawn goes to live with her cousin in New York and is not happy about it. The other students turn out to be more dangerous to the school than Buffy was to her High School. But what happens when a man interested in her cousin Scott, suddenly becomes interested in her as well? And not in the boost your ego kinda way.

Disclaimer: I do not own BtVS or X-Men.

* * *

The plane smelled like cheese. 

That was Dawn's first thought as she boarded. Her second thought involved breaking a window and squeezing through. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure if she could squeeze through the tiny windows, even with her tiny frame. Then again, you never know unless you try, right?

Dawn sighed as she plopped in her seat and looked up as Giles calmly sat in the tiny seat next to her. He had stopped talking to her earlier when he realized she was giving him the silent treatment. She sighed and leaned her head against the window, silently wishing the pilot would make an anouncement about how they wouldn't be able to take off for some technical reason. Honestly, she really didn't care what the reason was. Anything from there's a rat on the runway to our engine just won't start would do just fine for her.

"You know, this whole not talking to me is petty and juvenile."

Dawn turned her attention back to Giles. His lips were turned down in a sharp frown and his forehead did that wrinkly thing it always did when he was upset. Dawn, however, didn't voice any of this and instead just stared at the ex-watcher blankly.

Apparently, her silent treatment was affecting him more than he was willing to admit.

"And besides, it's not like this is my idea. You have no right to be mad at me. There's absolutely nothing I could do, Dawn. And you bloody well know that." He sighed and took off his glasses like he usually did when he was worried. His voice softened extremely, "If it were up to me, you'd be back in Sunnydale, failing classes and sneaking out in the middle of the night like you usually do."

Dawn couldn't help her smile at that. She looked down at her hands and sighed. Great. Now she was all with the feeling guilty, "I know." Giles set his glasses back on his nose and looked at her, "It's just..." She let out a small whiny noise, "It's not fair." The guilt was gone now, replaced by a feeling she knew so much better. Teenage selfishness.

Giles wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders, letting her lean against him and rest her head on his shoulder, "I know, Dawn."

That didn't stop Dawn though, "I mean, you guys are more than capable of taking care of me. I don't understand why I have to move all the way across the country."

Giles didn't say anything and instead just silently held Dawn like a father should. He sighed and leaned his head back against the uncomfortable tiny headrest. He lost Buffy, who was like a daughter to him, and now he was about to lose her little sister, who was like a second daughter to him.

It wasn't fair.

* * *

Dawn sighed and leaned her head against the window. She was depressed. Okay, so she was a little more than depressed, but she had every right to be. Her sister just died saving her life. Of course, what other way was Buffy suppose to go? A Vampire? Suicide? Homicidal rats? Of course she'd die saving her little sister. Wasn't that what she did best? 

Dawn sighed again and held her turning stomach. She really hated flying.

She was on her way to New York. With Buffy and her mom gone, she had no where else to go. Giles had gotten a hold of her father somehow, and he had instructed her to go to New York. Dawn had begged and pleaded with her father, and with Giles, to let her stay in California. Both had told her no, though Giles had the decency to seem upset when he said the words. She had been so desperate she had even called Angel to see if she could stay with him. He to had declined, telling her that maybe it was for the best.

So here she was, in a cheese smelling plane, sitting next to Giles with some old guy in the seat behind her who smelt like spinach, on her way to New York to live with her cousin. A cousin she hadn't seen in years, mind you. Though to be honest, she would prefer to live with him than her father. But, oh, here was the irony: He lived in a school! Dawn was actually moving into a school! The world must have really ended the day Buffy jumped. Who would have ever expected a Summers girl to move into a school?! The PTB must have really been really bored when they decided to do this to her. Dawn silently hoped that Buffy's luck with schools wasn't genetic, it would probably be a bad impression if she burned it down during her stay.

Dawn jumped at the ding. The pilot's voice spoke over the speakers, informing the passengers that they would be touching down shortly.

Oh, joy.

* * *

Scott paced nervously. He looked like a soldier almost, if it wasn't for the messy hair and the stubble on his chin that he refused to take care of. 

He was waiting for his cousin.

It sounded so strange to him. After the plane crash that had rid him of his immediate family and control over his mutant powers, he had tried long and hard to find any living relative. Then one day he found Hank and Joyce Summers. He had been so happy to have found his family. That is, until the day he told Hank and Joyce about him being a mutant. Hank had thrown a fit; banned him from ever seeing his family again. Joyce had been too much in shock to say anything.

Which is why this was so strange. When he had received a phone call from his uncle, telling him that his cousin was on her way, he was shocked. Hank had only said that Joyce had died and so had Buffy. So Dawn was coming to live with him. Scott had never even had the chance to ask why she wasn't going to live with him, her father, before the man hung up on him.

That was the first he had heard of Joyce's death, let alone Buffy's. Hell, he hadn't even known that the two had gotten divorced. He did remember Buffy and Dawn though. The two girls had been so excited to learn that they had a cousin out there. Buffy had only been a few years younger than him, four if he remembered right, and he believed Dawn was nine years younger than him. Whenever he came to visit, the three had been inseperable. He wondered if Uncle Hank had ever told them why he stopped.

Scott sighed and gave up his pacing. He walked over to one of the empty seats and sat down. He looked up at the Professor.

"How am I suppose to take care of her?! It's hard for me to just get through the day now that Jean's gone. How am I suppose to take care of a fifteen year old girl?!" He looked down at his hands. He hadn't been given a choice, Hank had only informed him of it seconds after her plane had taken off. Did she know about him being a mutant? Did she know what kind of school she was coming to? And if not, what would her reaction be?

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could feel one of his headaches coming on.

The Professor just gave him a sympathetic smile.

* * *

Dawn frowned as she stared out the cab window. She had no idea what Scott looked like now. He had most likely grown out of his stupid sunglasses. She wasn't sure if she could recognize him without those things swallowing his face. She gulped nervously. 

She hugged her duffel bag tighter. It had been a long time since she had last seen him. Before she had moved to Sunnydale even. That would have made her, what? Eight? Nine years old?

"I know, this is hard on you, Dawn." Dawn turn her attention to the closest thing she had as a father figure, "But you have to understand, that this may be for the best."

Dawn, ever the teenager, chose the silent response. She knew it wouldn't work, but who was she to deny stereotypical teen anger?

Giles sighed, "Dawn, I would be more than happy to take care of you, but..."

Dawn nodded and let her eyes look at everything but him, "But my dad gave custody to my cousin, yeah, yeah. I know."

Giles pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Dawn, Xavier's School for the Gifted, is an extremely excellent and well respected school. Thousands of people try to get their children into it every year, and only a few are accepted. You-"

"Are going to fail High School?" Giles turned back to her. Dawn rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't say I'm exactly gifted, Giles. Remember my grades before I left? They haven't exactly been valedictorian material."

"Well, that's to be expected with the things you've gone through lately. What with Glory, your mother... and Buffy. No one expects you to be pulling straight A's."

Dawn frowned and looked down at her feet. Her voice was small, "What if I hate it?"

Giles glanced at her before turning his eyes back to the front, "You have to give it time, Dawn. No one is expecting you to like this at first. And you're more than welcome to call me whenever you want, as well as the others back in Sunnydale. But you have to give it time. I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think."

Dawn looked back up at him, "Giles, I'm _just_ starting High School. What if I have Buffy's luck with school?"

Giles forced down a smile at the thought and stared at her for a moment before answering in a very serious tone, "Then the School is doomed."

Dawn rolled her green eyes and turned them back to the window.

She found herself coughing on her own spit.

Giles was quick to pat her back, trying to make sure she was okay. Then he saw what had caused her coughing fit.

The school may as well have been a mansion. An extremely large mansion. That mansion Angel had back in Sunnydale, yeah, it was nothing compared to this thing! Dawn wasn't sure she had ever seen anything this huge before! Even the newly built High School in Sunnydale wasn't as large as this. And they sure as hell didn't have the décor this place did. Or the security.

The cab stopped in front of a large gate. Dawn felt as if her eyes were going to pop out of her head. The cabbie rolled down his window and spoke into the intercom. Dawn didn't pay any attention to the gates opening as she kept her eyes trained on the mansion, which seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. Probably because it was getting closer and closer, but still. The place was huge!

Finally, the cab stopped in front of the mansion. Dawn didn't move. She just stared up at the mansion with a slack jaw. It was beautiful!

She jumped when a hand knocked on her window. Giles was now standing on the others side, both her bags in his hands. Behind him, standing on the porch was a group of people. Dawn instantly recognized her cousin in the group.

He was still wearing those stupid glasses.

Taking in a deep breath, Dawn opened the door. Her legs were a little more wobbly than she would've liked, but she still managed to stay upright. Somehow.

* * *

Scott, for his part, was holding his breath. He could hear some of the students gathering behind him, along with some teachers, but he ignored them. His eyebrows shot up when one of the cab doors opened. 

And out stepped a middle aged man.

The men pushed his glasses back up his nose and nodded at the group before making his way to the trunk of the cab. He pulled out two large bags before making his way around to the other door. He knocked on the darkened window.

After a few moments the door slowly opened and out stepped a petite brown haired girl.

She looked a little unsteady as she stared up at the group with wide green eyes.


	2. Kids Say The Darndest Things

AN: This chapter was fun! It's not extremely hilarious or anything, but at the end of it, I was on a roll with Dawn's actions! Hope y'all like it! Next chapter there will be more cousin bonding time.

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men or BtVS

_**Kids Say the Darndest Things!**_

Rogue ran down the halls as fast as she could, barely managing to dodge the people she ran by. A huge smile lit up her face as she shot through the kitchen, ignoring the curious looks she got from both Kitty and Jubilee. Just as she exited the other side of the kitchen, he grabbed her from behind. He wrapped his arms around her and managed to swing her up and over his shoulder. Rogue squealed and struggled, flailing her arms and legs wildly, trying to get him to put her down. He merely walked back into the kitchen, nodding at the two gaping girls before heading outside. Rogue didn't spare her best friends a glance as she continued to pound her fists into his back.

Bastard didn't even have the decency to at least fake a wince.

Rogue's eyes grew large as she realized where he was headed. Her struggles increased, "What d'ya think yer doin'?!"

He didn't answer as he stood a the edge, but there was no doubt in her mind that he was smirking triumphantly. She let loose a loud shriek as he threw her into the pool.

"REMY!!"

By the time her head bobbed to the surface, Remy had backed away from the edge and crouched down on his heels, a smirk on his lips, "Dat's what ya get, cherie."

Rogue huffed as she swam to the ledge. She held out her hand, "The least ya could do is help a lady out, Swamp Rat."

He shook his head, his smile disappearing into an overacted scolding look, "Don't t'ink so, chere. Remy ain't fallin' for dat trick. You should know better dan dat."

Rogue shrugged and easily pulled herself out of the pool, "Worth a shot." She grabbed the edge of her now soaked white t-shirt and tried to twist some of the water out of it. She froze when Remy whistled.

"Didn't t'ink you were into de colorful underwear, chere."

Rogue's face turned red as she glanced down at her chest. Her bright green and blue bra now showed through her shirt. Looking up, she noticed the leering gleam in his eyes. Suddenly, she launched herself forward, tackling Remy onto the sun bathing lawn chair behind him. She grinned at his shocked face as she stayed on top of him, straddling his hips. Suddenly Remy was assaulted by the ice water from a nearby pitcher Rogue found. She quickly jumped off him and ran back into the mansion before he could recover. She waved at Kitty and Jubilee, a huge smile on her face as she held back her laughter and ran through the kitchen again, nearly slipping along the way. When she ran by the stairs, she quickly dismissed the thought of running up them. Remy was faster than she was on the ground let alone the stairs, he'd catch her in an instant. So instead, she turned sharply around a corner and through a door, only to run into something hard. She looked up and smiled, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Logan!"

Her smile disappeared and was replaced with a cry of surprise when she found herself being tackled to the floor. She let out a squeal as Remy's fingers began to expertly move against her sides, tickling her. All thoughts of her mentor were gone as she struggled to free herself, and breathe.

Logan, for his part, watched all this with a frown. Not only was Rogue soaking wet, but now there was a man also soaking wet tickling her. Straddling her. And it almost looked as if he were trying to grope her instead of tickle her...

Remy let out a small shout of surprise when he felt himself yanked off the southern girl and thrown against the wall. He looked up to watch as his attacker helped Rogue off the floor.

Logan glanced back at the boy before turning his full attention back to Rogue, "The hell happened to you?"

Rogue was about to speak when another voice interrupted her.

"Why is the floor wet?!"

All three turned around to see Scott standing there, staring at the floor in irritation, vein popping out of his neck.

Rogue pointed a finger at Remy.

Remy pointed a finger at Logan.

Okay, so it was obvious that the two soaking wet teenagers were both responsible. But Remy didn't really much like the feral man at the moment.

Scott sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Of all days for Logan to show up and these two to cause mischief, it just had to be today.

Scott turned back to the trio, "Rogue, Remy, go get cleaned up and then come back down here to clean up this mess."

The tone in his voice left no room for argument, as the two students merely nodded and made to leave. Rogue let out a squeak as Remy pinched her side. She punched him in the chest before running up the stairs, Remy literally chasing after her.

Scott shook his head and turned back to Logan, "Nice to see you again, Logan."

At the lack of anything sarcastic, Logan rose an eyebrow, but nodded.

Scott motioned for the people behind him to come closer, "This is my cousin, Dawn. She's gonna be staying with us. And this is Mr. Giles, he brought her up here from California."

Logan looked at the small framed girl and nodded his acknowledgment. He could definitely see the family resemblance. Silently though, he couldn't help but wonder if this place _really_ needed another Summers walking the halls, barking orders. She flashed a nervous smiled and gave a small wave. "Hey." They had obviously just arrived, Giles still had one of her bags in his hand, Scott was carrying the other one.

Logan shook Giles' extended hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Logan."

Scott motioned to the bags, "I'm gonna help her settle in, then take her to meet the Professor. Make sure that Rogue and Remy clean this up."

Logan rose an eyebrow as Scott turned around, motioning for Dawn to follow him. Dawn rose an eyebrow as well. She turned to Logan with a confused look. Right before she followed after him she said the words that forever saved a place for her in Logan's heart.

"Who put the stick up his ass?"

xXx

After years of having Buffy trying to ditch her when she tagged along, Dawn had learned how to keep up with people pretty easily. She quickly matched Scott's pace and trudged silently beside him. She did have to admit that she was positively captivated by her surroundings. It was incredibly obvious that whoever this X guy was, he had enough money to buy from someplace other than a flea market. The expensive looking painting lining the walls was proof of that. Hell, the walls themselves looked like they could burn a crater sized hole in someone's wallet.

Buffy would totally have a freak out with the idea of her clutzy sister living here, let alone just passing through.

Dawn let out a breath, "Wow."

Looking down at his cousin, Scott couldn't help but smile. He never got tired at seeing the new students' reactions to the school. He stopped in front of a door, "Wait 'till you see your room." Slowly, he opened the door.

The dramatic motion made Dawn feel like she was in some weird Disney movie. She half expected to walk through the door and see dancing dishes and silverware and a talking dog. Or, you know, something to that effect. But of course, there was none of that. There were two beds on either side of the large room. One side was completely empty, waiting for her to decorate it as she saw fit. The other half was completely styled in its own unique way. The white walls were covered with posters of various and completely random bands and films. The bed was made up with a black bed sheet and black and yellow pillows sat on the yellow comfoter. There were sunflowers in a vase on a nearby oak desk.

Dawn smiled and nodded in approval, "Looks nice." She then cast Giles and her cousin an uneasy look, "I have to share my room?"

Scott nodded, "Yeah, I probably should have mentioned that. Since the school's so big, everyone shares a room. Most rooms actually have four people in them, but since there's an odd number of girls, Jubilee, your roommate, got the room to herself, until now."

Dawn nodded slowly, remembering the week she had to bunk with Buffy while their mom tried to find out where exactly she could store her art inventory. The two had literally almost killed each other. Dawn was sure that their cat fights would have won some Oscars. "Uh-huh." She bit her lip as Giles set her bag down on the empty bed, _her_ bed, "Um... I don't know how good of a roommate I'll be. I've never really shared a bedroom before, just a house. And even then I so did _not_ get along with everyone living in there."

Giles chuckled lightly while Scott smiled, vaguely remembering Dawn and Buffy's bickering whenever he came to visit. Those arguments must have increased between the two sisters as they got older. He didn't respond to that, instead he set down the bag in his hand and motioned for Dawn to follow him. "Come on, the Professor wants to meet you."

Dawn quickly traipsed after him, "What's he like?"

Scott smiled again. The last time he smiled this much had been before Jean had died. His smile quickly disappeared with that thought. Dawn noticed this, but didn't say anything. Instead, she waited patiently for him to respond. "He's nice. You'll like him. I know all of the students here do. He's very... uh... attentive." He paused and eyed his cousin and her escort cautiously, wondering how much he could say without someone freaking out.

Dawn was actually quite proud of herself. She managed to keep moving though her nerves were basically shot to hell. Her cousin was just a few steps ahead of her, and never noticed her uneasy gait. Giles did however. But before he could do anything to help calm her down they reached a door. Scott opened it and motioned for her to go in. She nervously slid in and glanced around at the very professional set up. Green eyes turned to the desk where an old bald man sat behind. For some reason, he kind of reminded her of Santa Clause, and she actually had to repress the urge to slap a beard and a Santa hat on him. Instead, she gave him a wavering smile and shifted on her feet awkwardly as he looked up from his paper work with an amused expression.

He flashed her a fatherly smile, much like the ones Giles always gave Buffy whenever she was nervous.

"Hello." He nodded his head towards her, "You must be Miss Dawn Summers." Dawn swallowed and nodded, her stomach suddenly felt like a circus, complete with acrobats and jugglers. She was slightly relieved when his attention left her and flew towards Giles, "And you must be Mr. Rupert Giles."

Giles nodded and reached over the desk to shake the Professor's hand, "Y-Yes. It's an honor to meet you, Professor." Dawn suddenly saw Giles' face break out into a goofy smile much akin to a Trekkie meeting William Shatner. It was the smile he got whenever he was talking to someone he admired. Dawn had never actually seen the smile, but had heard Buffy, Willow, and Xander making fun of it whenever he talked to certain Council Members or Miss Calendar. "I-I've always been such a big fan of-of your work."

Dawn couldn't help but raise her brow. When Giles' pulled away from the Professor, she leaned in and motioned to her chin, "Ya got a little drool..."

Dawn almost snorted at the look on his face as he quickly wiped his chin before stopping short and glaring at her. She just looked up at him with wide innocent eyes.

The Professor chuckled. "Thank you, Mr. Giles. It's nice to hear, especially in the world today." Giles nodded, mysteriously calmed by Dawn's joke, and easily slipped into a nearby chair. Dawn quickly followed suit. Her cousin casually took the chair on her other side. The Professor turned his eyes to Dawn again, "Tell me, Miss Summers," Dawn shifted in her seat at the formality. She wasn't use to things like that. He might as well call her Lady Summers. It would make her feel just as awkward, "How do you feel about coming to school here?"

As the question, Dawn felt herself stiffen suddenly. She quickly looked down, breaking eye contact with the old man. What was she suppose to say? I hate the idea, but my rat bastard of a father is forcing me, and I'd rather live with a soulless vampire than stay here? She wasn't entirely sure, especially with the way the old man was smiling now, but she was pretty sure that wouldn't go over so well. So instead, she threw a helpless glance at Giles' who had been watching her expectantly.

Getting the hint, Giles spoke up, "Well, considering the circumstances," He glanced back at Dawn before turning his eyes to Professor Xavier, "I'm not quite sure how honestly she can answer that question."

Thankfully, he nodded in understanding, his eyes back on Dawn, and let out an "Ah, yes," as if he had just been reminded, "I heard about your mother and your sister. My condolences," He steepled his fingers, "However, it appears as if there is nothing else we can do with the situation, seeing as how your father gave Scott full custody." There was a pause where all eyes were on Dawn. She just stayed quiet and played with her hands, "Unfortunately, we weren't aware of your arrival until just a few minutes after you were on the airplane." Dawn and Giles both looked surprised at that, "Because of that, we did not get the chance to brief you on certain aspects of this school."

Dawn and Giles' glanced at each other before turning to look back at him. Dawn's eyebrows rose a few inches, "Aspects?" Her voice shook.

"Yes." He leaned forward slightly. "As you know, this is a school for the gifted."

Oh, God, oh, God! He was talking about her grades and how she almost flunked out of Freshman year! He wants to stick her in those special ed classes! Dawn's thoughts went a mile a minute.

"What you don't know is that the gifted students here are all mutants."

Dawn's head snapped up at that. Giles felt his own eyes grow wide.

The four of them sat there in silence for a moment before Dawn spoke. "Mutants?" Scott and the Professor nodded, "But... I-I'm not a mutant..." They nodded again.

Dawn didn't even notice the three pairs of eyes on her as she slowly realized what this meant. She threw her head back with a groan, "Great! Now I got another reason for kids at school to hate me!"

Scott blinked and shook his head in confusion, "Hate you?"

Dawn looked up, realizing for the first time she had said it aloud, "Yeah... um..." She glanced at Giles, as if he was some sort of pool of strength for her, "Kids at my school were kinda... um... well, they just didn't like me much... or at all..."

Xavier nodded, as if that was explanation enough. He pulled out a rather thick file and looked at it in amusement, "I have a feeling that might have something to do with your sister's destructive history, correct?"

Dawn's face flushed and Scott looked up in surprise, "Buffy?" His thoughts went back to the superficial pink obsessed pre-teen he remembered. As far as he knew, Buffy had always been the popular girl in school. At Xavier's nod, Scott continued, "Buffy the head cheerleader? Wore vasts amounts of pink and make up with incredibly long hair? Probably the most superficial teen on the planet?"

Xavier nodded again and the amusement on his face grew, "Kicked out of school for burning down the gym on Prom night freshman year... followed by a few weeks in a mental institution," Giles and Scott both looked surprise at that, Dawn just stared at her hands, the memory still fresh in her mind, "Transfered to Sunnydale High her sophomore year, was involved in... _a few_ fights, then ran away from home before returning back to continue her senior year..." Xavier flipped through about three pages before continuing, "Then it seems as if her senior year, during graduation no less, the school mysteriously... exploded."

Scott's jaw fell and he turned to look over at Giles and his little cousin. Dawn's eyes were wide and glued to her hands, while Giles cleared his throat nervously and took off his glasses and began fiddling with them. Dawn never really did enjoy talking about how her sister's history with the school effected her socially and academically. Buffy had left behind some pissed off people, including teachers who ended up teaching Dawn, and some little siblings of enemies and victims who were still pissed off at the Summers family.

Xavier couldn't help but chuckle, causing everyone in the room to turn to him in confusion. The look he gave Dawn could only be described as the look an amused father gave to his five year old daughter, "I can assure you, Dawn, whatever troubles your _sister_ would bring to this school are nothing compared to what my students could do. Many of them are still learning to control their gifts." His smile widened at what seemed to be a fond memory, "Actually, I remember the day a certain young Scott Summers blew up his bedroom wall."

Dawn's eyes went wide and her head snapped over to her cousin. His face was red and his jaw was tight. "Really?!"

Scott cleared his throat, threw a look at Xavier, and muttered, a "Yeah..."

Dawn looked at him, suddenly feeling so much more comfortable, "So..." Being as blunt as ever, Dawn went in for the question, "What? You can, like, blow up stuff?"

Scott looked back at her and could literally see the excitement just pouring off her, "Sort of..." He always felt awkward talking about his powers, especially when it came to family. Not that he did it that often, but still.

Xavier took over, "Scott can shoot optic blasts from his eyes. Hence the glasses. They're made of special ruby quartz that absorb the blasts. It's the only thing keeping him from knocking out another wall."

Scott shifted nervously at the look Dawn was giving him. Her eyes were wide and she was visibly gaping, not even bothering to try and hide her surprise.

"That is _so_ cool!"

Scott blinked in surprise from behind his sunglasses.

"_Way_ better than super strength!"

Giles just rolled his eyes at that comment.

Xavier leaned back in his chair, amusement still playing on his features, "So, Miss Summers," Dawn looked back up at him, "I take it the idea of living with a group of teenage mutants does not bother you?"

Dawn shrugged slightly, "Not really." She couldn't help the little grin that slid across her face as she thought of all the things that happened in Sunnydale. "Just as long no one turns me into a rat or tries to kill me, I'll be good."

Xavier nodded, "Good. I'm pleased to hear that." He turned his attention to Scott, "Scott, why don't you take Miss Summers and show her around the school, introduce her to a few students as well."

Scott nodded and stood up, "C'mon, Dawn." Dawn cast a questioning glance at Giles as she slowly stood up.

Giles smiled at her. It was the same kind of encouraging smile he use to send to Buffy. For some reason, that comforted Dawn. It was almost like having her mother sitting there smiling at her.

"Go on ahead, Dawn. I just wanna chat with the Professor here for a moment. I'll come see you before I leave."

Dawn rolled her eyes, immediately guessing what it was he wanted to talk about. "Alright fine." She followed her cousin out the door, throwing over her shoulder, "Just don't drool on his leather chairs."

The moment the door closed, Giles turned his attention back to Xavier. Only instead of the nervous goofy man from moments earlier, Giles had turned into what could only be called his Ripper face.

"I want you to listen to me and listen very carefully, Professor." Even Xavier couldn't help but be surprised, "That little girl has gone through some very hard times of late. She is very important to me and very important to a number of others back in Sunnydale." Giles leaned forward, "If _anything_ happens to her, or she calls us in tears other than homesickness, we will come down here and it will not be pretty," Giles narrowed his eyes and his face suddenly took on a very dark persona, "You may think that having a school full of mutants will protect you, but trust me when I say it will not shield you from _us_ if something happens to that girl. Understand?"

Not at all fazed by the threat, Xavier, who had been sitting there patiently with a raised eyebrow, nodded, "Of course, Mr. Giles. You have nothing to worry about, Dawn is in the safest of hands. And I must say, your loyalty and love for the girl only assures me of what Scott has told me of her. You have nothing to worry about. I have a feeling Scott would sooner die than let anything happen to her. And we will be sure to contact you immediately if anything should happen."

Giles nodded before standing up, "Good." He straightened up his suit, "Now, if you'll excuse me, Professor Xavier, I should really run. I have a meeting back in England I need to attend." Without another word, Giles exited the room.

Xavier suddenly let out a breath he'd been holding in. It was a hard thing to intimidate a telepath, but Mr. Giles somehow managed to do it. Xavier frowned as he looked up. The girl was definitely not a mutant, but there was something a little off about her. Xavier shook his head. As curious as it was, he knew better than to pry into other people's minds, especially the mind of a teenage girl.

However, if the girl could instill that kind of loyalty in someone, maybe, just maybe, she could help Scott gain back what he lost.

xXx

Dawn followed her cousin nervously throughout the school. He had already shown her the library, introduced her to a few of the students in there, and now they were heading towards the commons area. Apparently, this was the place where most of the students her age hung out, including her new roommate.

Her heart was pounding as he led her into the room. Immediately she could see why this was such a popular hang out place. It had a pool and fooseball table, a TV, a stereo, an X-Box 360, and still enough room for students to run around. As proven by the first two students Dawn had seen earlier; a tall guy with sunglasses, and a shorter girl with two white streaks in her hair.

Dawn watched out of the corner of her eye as her cousin sighed.

"Hey, everyone, listen up!"

If anything the chatter grew louder.

Scott shook his head and let loose a sharp whistle, "New student!"

That did it.

Dawn felt frozen fear wash over her as everyone of the students stopped what they were doing and looked up. All eyes landed on her. Her face flushed and she shifted nervously.

Ready. Aim. Fire.

"Everyone, this is my cousin, Dawn." That got a few murmurs from choice students. Scott went to say something, but stopped and cocked his head to the side, as if listening to something. He glanced back down at Dawn, "Uh... Dawn, I'm gonna let you hang out here for a bit, alright?" At the panicked look she sent him, he rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I'll only be gone for a moment. There's something the Professor wants me to do." Dawn looked confused, but didn't say anything as he quickly left the room.

Dawn turned and looked at the room of teenagers, suddenly feeling like a rag doll that had been made and bathed at a meat factory before being thrown into a pen full of rabid dogs.

Immediately, a short Asian girl with incredibly short hair came up to her. She casually chewed her gum, looked Dawn up and down like a piece of meat, and grinned. She held out a yellow gloved hand, "So, you're my new roomie, huh?" Dawn's eyebrows shot up and she nervously took the girl's hand, "I'm Jubilation Lee, but everyone calls me Jubilee."

Dawn couldn't help but smile. If this was her new roommate, than things couldn't be all that bad here. Right?

Suddenly, Dawn found herself bombarded on all sides by different students. Everyone asking her questions and introducing themselves. However there was one person that managed to save her from all the ruckus; Dawn swayed.

"Just a second guys, let her breathe!" Later, Dawn would know the guy as Bobby Drake, or Iceman. Ex-boyfriend to the resident Rogue and the Institute's resident prankster. However, for the moment, Dawn knew him as "hubbahubba, Fabio eat your own socks" man.

"So," Dawn turned her attention to the girl with the Pepe le Peu hairdo, "What d'ya do?"

For a few moments, Dawn was completely lost at what the girl was asking. "What do I do?" the girl nodded. Everyone in the room seemed extremely interested in her answer as they looked on at her with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

Jubilee just laughed. "What's your power, chica?" Dawn felt her eyes widen in realization, "I can shoot off fireworks." She added proudly.

Feeling like that rag doll again, Dawn just cleared her throat and looked down at her hands, which were currently preoccupied with the hem of her shirt.

"Dawn."

Never before in her life, had she been happy to hear Giles say her name. However, that feeling left when she saw the look on his face. Suddenly, she felt as if she had just been hit with a something akin to a bowling ball. This was the last time she'd see anyone from Sunnydale in the PTB knows how long.

She couldn't help it. Really, she couldn't. The water filling up her eyes as she thought of everything and everyone she'd lost and was losing in less than a year's time forced their way. The tears blurred her vision and hid the sight of Giles quickly making his way to her, ignoring the throng of students surrounding her. He wrapped her tightly in his arms, and held her as she sobbed in his chest.

"I don't w-want t-to stay h-HERE!"

Giles sighed and glanced at the surrounding students, silently noting their discomfort as they each watched the sentimental scene with wide eyes. He gently pushed the sobbing teen away from him, his hand gently brushing away the tears falling down her pink cheeks, "I know, Dawn." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and gently cupped her chin in his right hand, "I'm just a phone call away."

The look in her eyes should have been his first clue that it wasn't going to be that easy. Dawn threw herself at him again, making him stumble back. She obviously didn't care about the first impression she was making with the other students.

"C-can't you j-just stay a l-little bit l-l-longer?!"

Giles pushed her away again and looked down at her, his face serious, "You know I can't. I have a meeting I need to attend," Dawn opened her mouth in protest, but Giles quickly grabbed her chin and snapped her mouth shut, "Dawn." His voice was stern, "You have to stay here. I'm sure your cousin will watch out for you. And if anything," He gave her a small smile, "goes bump in the night," Dawn couldn't suppress her shaky smile either, "Just give me a call."

Suddenly feeling like they were exchanging lasts words, she frantically searched her mind for something cool to say, something he would remember for a long time after. All her mind could find though was: "I can't believe you're giving up American food for tea and crumpets."

Giles chuckled and smiled down at her with what could only be described as fatherly pride. "I'll see you later, Dawnie."

Dawn's eyes watered at the nickname -a name he _never_ called her- as he turned around and walked out the front door. Dawn took in a shaky breath. She slowly glanced over her shoulder to see her fellow students staring at her with wide eyes. She never felt so much like a little girl in her life.

This would not be the only time she'd curse herself for being a teen. It was as if her hormones ruled over everything and it was all she could do to keep her emotions in check. So when her despair and embarrassment were suddenly replaced by an irrational anger at having to stay in this strange place with people who probably thought they were better than her because of the things they could do, she really couldn't help herself. Again. She saw every flaw that she ever noticed in her sister when it concerned her slayer abilities in them. The self righteous, better-than-thou-because-you're-just-a-normal-girl attitude.

Her face turned hard and her lips pursed together. Venomously, the words spat out Dawn's lips before they registered with her brain, as words so often did with her, "Scott's just my cousin. I'm not a damn mutant." And before she could see the group's reaction, Dawn sprinted up the stairs and towards her new room.

xXx

Dawn's a little pissy ain't she? No worries, things will start to build themselves right next chapter. Next chapter, Dawn has a confrontation with her roommate, meets Remy Lebeau and Rogue, stares at Bobby, apologizes (sorta) and meets the resident doctor for a check up. But what happens when said doctor notices some unusual scars? And Dawn starts to develop that small klepto problem from Season 6... but what happens when others start blaming a known thief?


	3. C is for Cookie

AN: Alright, Remy talking in third person annoys me a little btw. So I decided to only have him do that when he's joking around. Most of the time he'll be talking in first person.

I'll admit right now, I've thought about bringing Spike in, I still might do it too, but I'm also thinking about bringing in a less popular character (like Oz or Marcie) or even somebody from the Angel series... not sure how that's gonna work though.

Also, I so need to stop doing the _Next Chapter_ dealies. I always change things...

_**C is for Cookie**_

OK, it wasn't _that_ bad...

Well...

It was _bad_, but it wasn't _that_ bad...

Right?

Dawn let out a helpless breath and wrapped herself up tighter beneath the thin white sheet. Seriously, though, how bad could it be? She just insulted a group of powerful teenagers, who, for the most part, had probably been subjected to more insults than she could possibly come up with on her own. It wasn't like she said anything that was creative, witty, or even, you know, smart. Thinking back on it, it wasn't like she _actually_ insulted them. She just hocked up a lugie full of venom and sprayed it at the nearest target, effectively ruining whatever kind of social life she could possible have here... ever.

Was there some kind of defaulty wiring in her or something? In all the rush of turning her into a human and sending her away from the Goddess of blindfolded chickens, or whatever she called herself in that crazy rant, did the monks forget to install some kind of filter or something in her brain? Did they half ass the job, decide good enough, and just sent her on her merry way? Or was she just a social retard, cursed to forever be on the bottom of the ladder or barrel or whatever the hell it was?

A ton of ideas flew threw her head on what to do now. None of them were acceptable. They all involved somebody getting pissed off at her, namely Scott, and at the moment, Dawn figured that enough people were pissed off at her. So instead she wrapped herself up and hid inside the thin white sheet, in case her roommate decided to come up.

When the door screeched open, she pulled her knees closer to her chest and held her breath. The soft footsteps stopped short. She heard a heavy sigh before the footsteps started again followed by a sudden shift in weight on her mattress.

Unless her roommate weighed more than her tiny Asian frame suggested, Dawn was pretty sure that her visitor was actually her cousin. After all, it was only inevitable that the news of the new bigoted idiotic teenage girl that he was related to reached him.

"Dawn..." Her stomach churned and she ignored the stinging behind her eyes. He had no idea how much the tone in his voice sounded like Buffy's when she was worried, "What happened?"

Dawn held her knees tighter and took in a deep breath. She didn't say anything, she had no idea what she should say. Every thought that entered her head sounded childish.

"Hey," He placed a warm hand on her shoulder, "It's not so bad here." She stayed silent, "It'll take some getting use to, but -"

"Giles left."

And there goes her thinking and trying to act mature... again.

"You and Buffy were close to him weren't you?"

Dawn could hear the slight hurt in his voice. She stayed silent though, contemplating her answer. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Why couldn't she have thought before she spoke ten minutes ago? "Yeah," She slipped out from underneath her sheets and sat up, throwing her cousin a pitiful look, "We've known him since I was about 10, but he didn't really starting hanging around me 'til a few months before mom got sick."

Scott leaned back on her bed and propped himself up on his elbows, "How'd you guys know him?"

The mischievous smile spread across Dawn's face before she could stop it, "He was the librarian at Sunnydale High."

Dawn had to hold back a snort of laughter at the look on her cousin's face. His eyebrows were scrunched together, his jaw was tight, lips pursed, and his cheeks sucked in. This was the look that she and Buffy always tried to get from him whenever he came over to visit. It was such an awkward look, especially when accompanied with his sunglasses.

"So..." He sat back up and rested his elbows on his knees, "Buffy hung out with the librarian?" The sentence sounded so incredibly wrong. He couldn't help the unbelieving chuckle as he shook his head, "Wow. Things must've really changed since I last saw you guys."

Dawn unconsciously let her hand rub the her right forearm, thankful that she was wearing long sleeves, "You have no idea."

"I'm sorry."

It was said so suddenly that Dawn's head snapped towards him, "What?" Her eyebrows scrunched up in surprise. Scott was staring straight at her, his gaze level and intense, "For what?"

"Not being there."

"Oh." She blinked in surprise. The next thing she knew, she was talking, unsure of what she could say to ease his guilt, "It's OK. We really didn't think about it much. Mom and Dad were arguing all the time, so we were kinda occupied with the family drama and all that." It wasn't until after the words came out, that she realized he could have taken some sort of offense to it, such as her not including him in that family, but luckily for her he was just as use to her ramblings as Buffy, and knew not to take them too personal at times.

"I never did..." He completely ignored her rambles, just as she figured he would, and took in a deep breath. He did sound kind of hurt as he spoke, "I was never told about your mom 'til Uncle Hank called me today... Or Buffy."

"Oh..." Blinking, Dawn tried to recall if Buffy ever mentioned Scott during the preparations for Joyce's funeral. She couldn't remember any other Summers being mentioned but their Dad, "I don't know. Buffy was handling mom's funeral arrangements and Giles dealt with Buffy's." She shrugged her shoulders helplessly, she couldn't help the bitterness that dripped into her next sentence, "My job was pretty much sit there and look pitiful."

They both sat there in silence as Scott contemplated Dawn's words. Dawn, for her part, was beginning to feel extremely uncomfortable and wished that her older cousin would change the subject. And, like so very few things in her life, it actually came true.

Scott pushed himself off her bed and flashed her a smile, "Well, come on. We need our resident doctor to give you a physical."

At the word doctor, the memory of her mother in the hospital flashed through her mind. She grimaced, "Ugh. I hate doctors."

"Dr. McCoy's different." He grabbed her hand and yanked her off the bed. She almost fell face first on the floor. She glared at him as he started out of her room and down the hall, completely ignoring her almost face plant, "You'll like him. He's very easy to get along with, and... uh..." Scott cleared his throat, suddenly seeming very awkward to Dawn, "Well... just remember he's really easy to get along with."

xXx

Jubilee frowned, "This really isn't fair, ya know." She pursed her lips together and took in a deep breath through her nose, "What am I suppose to do, just sit and do nothing?"

From across the table, Rogue grinned, "Well, Ah dunno. Ya could at least try an' _look_ pretty."

That made a guffaw of laughter erupt from Remy, who was sitting next to the Southern Bell. Kitty's mouth fell open and she quickly covered up her laughter with her hand, while Piotr just frowned in confusion as to why Rogue would insult her friend.

Jubilee glared at Rogue her arms crossed tightly across her chest. She grabbed the pile of discarded cards in the center of the table and threw them at the Southern girl. Remy's eyes grew wide from behind his glasses and he quickly tried to catch each one of the cards before they hit the ground, which was a mission already failed.

"I hate poker." Jubilee's proclamation caused Remy to forget about his rescue mission and stare at her in disbelief, "Why are we even playing this? Can't we go outside or something?" She huffed and crossed her arms, "I'm tired of being cooped up in here."

Bobby, who had barely reacted to the entire ordeal, tapped his fingers on his cards with a smile, "You're just mad 'cause you had no chance and had to fold." He brought his hand to his forehead in an _L_ shape, "Loser."

Jubilee just rolled her eyes before jumping to her feet and grabbing her signature yellow jacket from the nearby couch. Slipping it on, Jubilee made a face, "Yeah, well, cards are stupid anyway." A hurt sound came from Remy as he stumbled backwards and dramatically grabbed at his chest. Rogue rolled her eyes, "I'd much rather be outside."

Without another word, Jubilee marched out of the rec room and towards kitchen.

Remy hung his head and looked as if he was ready to cry, "She insulted Remy's cards..." He made a show of petting the cards in his hands while whispering in French to them.

Kitty sputtered with laughter before she shook her head, "What is with you today? You're like so hyper."

Remy just shrugged before snatching the rest of the cards off the table and placing them in his jean pocket, "S'a good day, _p'tite_. I got de Roguey here wet." He quickly ducked to the side dodging Rogue's fist, "An' we got ourselves another _belle fille_ in _nos maison_."

Kitty made a face, "Yeah..." She snatched the cards from Bobby's hand, "I wonder what Jubilee's gonna do with her." She handed them to Remy, a frown marring her face.

"Vat do you mean, Katya?" Piotr looked confused as he quietly handed his cards back to Remy.

Kitty looked up at the taller Russian, "Well, you heard that comment she made about mutants, right?" She shrugged lightly, "It's just... I don't know what I'd do if I were rooming with her."

Rogue just rolled her eyes and ignored the Cajun's hand as he snatched the cards lying in front of her, "She didn't say nothin' 'bout mutants, Kit." There was only one thing Rogue liked about her powers, and that was it gave her a basic understanding of other people, "She just said she was here 'cause she's Mr. Summer's cousin. Doesn't mean she hates mutants."

Remy nodded in agreement before standing up from the table, "Rogue's _raison_. Da _fille_ just be in a strange new place." He gave everyone at the table a meaningful look, "'N' fer once, she be de odd one out." Without waiting to see their reactions, Remy pulled a pack of cigarettes from his coat and headed outside.

The moment he stepped outside, he placed one of his cigarettes between his lips and slid the pack back into his pocket. Tapping the tip, he lit the end and headed across the lawn towards his target.

Jubilee kicked the rock and watched as it flew a few feet ahead of her. She frowned when Remy appeared next to her. Her frown deepened when he didn't say anything. She rolled her eyes, "What?"

"Ya hurt Remy's feelin's."

Jubilee blinked before turning her head to him in confusion, "Huh?"

Remy mocked a horrified look and pulled his cigarette from his mouth, "Da cards, _cherie_!" he threw his hands in the air for drama and emphasis, "Y'instuled Remy's cards! Derefore, you insulted Remy." He jabbed his thumb to his chest before placing his cigarette back into his mouth. Remy stuffed both his hands in his pockets and stared straight ahead, "He t'ink you owe him an apology."

Jubilee smiled slightly, rolling her eyes in the process, "Fine." She turned towards him, "I, Jubilation Lee, am truly and deeply sorry for any pain I may have caused to Remy and his cards." She dramatically placed her hand on her forehead while her voice grew a few pitches higher, "I am so wrought with guilt, that if I am not forgiven, I may just keel over and die a horrific death, complete with gasping and seizures!"

Remy nodded, a satisfied look on his face, "Remy finds dat acceptable." He looked at her and the humor in his face disappeared, "Y'alright, _p'tite_?"

Jubilee sighed and nodded before pulling her coat tighter around her as a gust of cold wind blew, "I'm fine."

Remy rolled his eyes from behind his sunglasses, "Look, Firecracker, I don't t'ink de _nouvelle fille _ meant t' be rude.Jus' t'inks she be nervous. Give her de benefit o' de doubt, _d'accord_?"

Jubilee sighed and nodded. She hugged her jacket closer to her, "I'm thirsty. I think I'm gonna go get a bottle of soda. You want anything, Rems?"

Remy shook his head, understanding that the conversation was done, "_Non_, I t'ink m' just gonna stand here for 'while an' finish m' smoke."

Jubilee nodded and headed inside.

xXx

Dawn blinked and just stared from her perch. Scott was eying her wearily from the corner of the med room.

He was blue.

Blue and furry.

And big.

Big, blue, and furry.

And a doctor.

And he was staring right back at her, silently awaiting her response. He glanced over his shoulder at her cousin in silent concern before turning his gaze back down to the young teenager.

Dawn couldn't suppress it anymore. A smile stretched across her face, and for a moment, Scott felt his nerves grow taught, "Anyone ever tell you, you look like the Cookie Monster?"

Hank let out a snort of laughter, making Scott jump at the unexpected sound. Dawn on the other hand just smiled brightly at the fuzzy doctor, "So," She sat up just a little straighter, "There any chance we can get this physical over with? No offense, but I've kinda had my fill of hospital rooms."

Dr. McCoy nodded, a bright smile on his lips. Dawn's eyes ticked over the newly revealed fangs before landing back on his bright blue eyes. If he noticed her attention to his teeth, he didn't reveal it. Instead he just grabbed a cart full of medical equipment that Dawn recognized but couldn't recall the names to.

"Ah, yes." Dawn was momentarily taken aback at how his teeth didn't affect his speech, "Not to worry, my young Miss Summers, there are plenty of other here who have come to hate this room as well." He winked at her, "I don't plan to keep you any longer than just a few minutes." He motioned at her right arm, "If I could get you to roll up your sleeve."

Dawn hesitated. He was asking her to roll up the sleeve she had cut herself on. She glanced over at her cousin, who was staring back at her curiously. It was nearly impossible for somebody not to notice the sudden change in her demeanor. She had went from being relaxed and good natured, to nervous and scared. But before anyone could say a word, or ask her why, she rolled her green baggy sleeve up, being sure to keep the scar facing towards the ground and out of sight of the doctor and her overprotective cousin.

Hank restrained himself from turning and giving Scott a confused look as he wrapped his blue hand gently around Dawn's wrist. It wasn't until he turned her arm over to take her pulse, did he realized why she had hesitated. He actually heard the tiny brunette swallow forcibly. Luckily for the newest student, if there was one thing Hank understood, it was the need for privacy. So, he placed himself between Dawn and her cousin, before looking over his shoulder.

"Scott, I was hoping I might persuade you into doing me a favor." Hank smiled, "If you could go and snatch young Mr. Drake for me." Scott frowned and opened his mouth in protest, but Hank continued, "And be sure to tell the young boy that it's high time for him to pay up his debt." He sent Dawn a meaningful look, "The boy was daring enough to bet against me. Of course, he's going to pay the price in the form of Twinkies."

Even though she was completely lost, she couldn't help but smile at that. She quickly came to the conclusion that she liked this Dr. Hank McCoy. However, the moment the doors closed behind Scott, the good humor on this blue fuzzy face disappeared. The look wasn't one of anger or even sympathy. It was more of a concerned disappointing curious look. Dawn pursed her lips together as Hank grabbed one of his stools and rolled it over. He sat back on it and fixed Dawn with a somewhat soft look.

"Would you mind telling me where this is from, Dawn?"

Biting her lower lip, Dawn instinctively rubbed the recently healed scar with the palm of her hand.

"You did it to yourself, didn't you?"

Dawn nodded, but said nothing. Her gaze stayed lowered towards her feet, which she began to swing back and forth nervously.

Dr. McCoy laid a gentle, if not ticklish, hand on hers. "If you do not wish for your cousin to know _yet_," Dawn looked up at that, "then I will not tell him." He removed his hand and leaned back , "However, if you have any more injuries... or scarring that I need to see..."

Suddenly, her scars started to itch and Dawn cursed her luck. Knowing that sooner or later, the resident doctor would find them, as was her life's luck, she decided to come clean. The cuts may have been shallow, but there had been one that had been deep. It had been the first cut that night, and she had flinched, causing it to go deeper than intended. Those stitches would need to be taken out soon.

So, taking in a slow deep breath, Dawn grabbed the edge of her green shirt and pulled it up, stopping just underneath her bra line. She watched carefully as Hank's eyes grew wide and his face formed into one of shock. His hand gently traced one of the many healing scars. Dawn forced down an involuntary smile when his fuzzy fingers went over a ticklish spot. He pulled his hand away and nodded at her. She lowered her shirt.

Hank leaned back again and nodded, "Most of those will heal and leave no permanent scar... however," He looked back up at her, "The stitches will leave permanent scaring." Dawn looked down and played with the hem of her shirt, "Dawn, I can tell that you did not inflict these lacerations on yourself. Will you tell me what happened."

The entire time he had been talking and analyzing, Dawn had been trying to figure out in her head what she was going to say. Should she tell him about the crazy homicidal hell goddess who tried to kill her? Should she tell him that it was an accident (like he'd actually believe it)? Or should sh-

_Woosh!_

Dawn and Hank both jumped and turned towards the door to see Scott and Bobby walk through. Scott looked rather irritated with his arms crossed and his jaw clenched tightly. Bobby, for his part, looked comically depressed. His lips were in a slight pout, his head was lowered, and his hands were hidden behind his back.

Though he was quite disappointed with the interruption, Hank knew better than to let said disappointment show. So he fixed them with a bright smile, "Ah... Mr. Bobby Drake, just the man I wanted to see."

"Are we done?"

Hank turned to Dawn. Her eyes were wide and nervous. Frowning, Hank suddenly realized that this was going to be one of few chances to get the story out of her. One of the other times would be when the stitches needed removing. Nodding, Hank never took his eyes from hers, "For the moment, Miss Summers."

Without another word, Dawn hefted herself off the table, wincing slightly as she landed, and headed towards her cousin and out the door.

Scott stood at the doorway, his arms crossed sternly over his chest, "Everything okay?"

Hank stared back at Scott. He hated lying, and in fact, refused to do so when the subjects were as important as this. He gave Scott a soft smile, "It will be."

Nodding, somewhat pleased with the answer, Scott left the room.

Hank shot an almost evil smile to Bobby Drake, "Now, about that debt..."

Bobby let out a small whimper and held the box of Twinkies he had brought with him tightly to his chest. "Bu-but..."

xXx 

"Everything okay?"

Dawn slowed down to let her cousin catch up. Not that she actually needed to slow down. Scott would have been able to catch up to her if she were running and he were speed walking. "You found that guy fast."

"Yeah..." Oh, he wasn't an idiot. He knew damn well when his little cousin was trying to change the subject, but he wasn't quite sure on whether or not he should push his question yet. So instead, he just answered hers, "He was on his way down here actually." He shot her a humorous smile, "Though why he was heading down here with a box of Twinkies I have yet to establish."

Dawn let out a small laugh as they walked down the hallway towards the elevator. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on which of the two Summers you were, one of the doors ahead of them slid open and out walked a sweaty Logan. Complete with his no shirtness.

Now, Dawn had seen men with no shirts. She'd seen Spike a myriad of times whenever she stopped by his crypt unannounced. She had even seen Riley and Angel when they trained with Buffy or when they (Xander included) had a wound that needed patching up. She had even accidentally walked in on Giles once while he had been switching his shirts in the back of the Magic Box. Older shirtless men were really nothing new to her. And in all honesty, the only thing Dawn really registered in regards to Logan's bare chest was the hair. He was extremely hairy and furry. She was actually quite tempted to pet him.

Scott didn't know that though.

"Logan!"

With a low growl that caught Dawn completely by surprise, Logan glared up at the taller man. He flung his sweaty shirt over his right shoulder and leaned back against the wall, "Ya gotta problem, One Eye?"

Dawn's face scrunched in confusion, "One Eye?"

Scott ignored her, "Yeah. I'd appreciate it if you could wear a shirt around the students."

Logan rose one of his eyebrows and glanced down at Dawn who merely rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in irritation. Logan suddenly itched for a cigar, "Considerin' I'm on my way from the Danger Room to the Locker Room, I'll be sure to put one on in there." He snorted, "I don't need ya tellin' me how to dress, Cyke." He took in a breath as he pushed his way past, purposely pushing into Scott, "Who the hell brought Twinkies down here?"

Scott shook his head and turned back to Dawn, "Sorry, Logan can just be so-"

"What's the Danger Room?"

Scott froze and looked down at his extremely curious little cousin.

God, damn it...

xXx

So she'd been stomping around all day biting off everybody's head. As far as she was concerned, she had a right. After all, her new roommate turned out, to not only be a non-mutant, but to be a bigot. So, yeah, she was a little pissed off. Especially to those who were trying to play mediator; like Remy and Rogue. Rogue had never been one of her close friends, but they had a mutual respect for each other. Which involved throwing around sarcastic insults, but that was all in good fun. The main reason the two were never close was because they had completely opposite views. Jubilee had always known since the first moment she said hi to the southern belle in class, that if given a choice, Rogue would get rid of her gift, no hesitation. And though Jubilee's tried to push past it, she couldn't understand why or forgive Rogue for it. But Remy... he loved his mutation, he loved his gift. So the fact that he was defending a girl who so obviously hated his kind left her with the bitter aftertaste of betrayal.

Now that the Professor was defending said girl really wasn't a surprise. He defended everyone from Stryker to Magneto. He understood people better than Jubilee ever could. Honestly, she was fine with that. He wants to understand people, then fine. He could. She on the other hand had no want to understand the people who had tried to kill her back when she lived in California.

"Jubilation!"

Unuse to the Professor using such a stern voice on her of all people, Jubilee jumped and looked up with wide eyes. Just now realizing that she had been, what she called, thinking aloud, she pursed her lips together and crossed her arms defiantly.

Professor Xavier sighed and leaned forward so his elbows rested on his desk. The look he fixed her was one of understanding mixed with the 'you should know better' look. "Jubilee," His voices sounded fatherly, and Jubilee was beginning to wonder if he did this same voice for all his students, "I know it will take some getting use to, but Dawn is a special case."

Jubilee snorted, "I'll say."

Almost as if he hadn't heard that comment, Xavier just continued, "The girl has just recently lost her entire family with the exception of Scott and her father."

Jubilee rolled her eyes, "Join the club."

"And has no where else to go." The Professor sighed, "I will tell you what I have told everyone who has ever questioned my decision to let somebody stay here," Jubilee looked down at her hands, knowing exactly what he was going to say, "I will not refuse those in need of my help. She is a young girl in a place where she is now the one who doesn't fit in. She has no hatred towards mutants-"

"You weren't downstairs!" Xavier's eyebrows jumped at the outburst, but he didn't look in the least surprised, "The things she said, Prof, I- you can't expect me to room with her!"

"I believe her exact words were, 'I am not a damn mutant' were they not?" Jubilee frowned and nodded, curious, but not really surprised, at how he knew that. He gave her a small smile, "Word gets around fast, especially when you're telepathic.

Dawn was just upset. The man whom she perceives as her father left her with a group of strangers, albeit against his obvious wishes. It seems to me she has dealt with mutants in the past." Jubilee looked up in surprise at that, "She does not have the telepathic shields I have taught all of you to use. And more often then not, some of her thoughts are practically screamed from her mind. She feels that since she cannot do anything uniquely special as we can, that we perceive ourselves as better than her. _Superior_."

Jubilee frowned at that word. For all her thoughts and all her ranting, she hated that word. It reminded her of those mobs in California and how she did not want to think like they did, how she didn't want to become the next Magneto. Sometimes she felt she was close to becoming like John, and just walking away from here. Not because she was misunderstood or ignored, but because whenever the subject of homosapiens sprang up, she felt bitter. Angry.

Honestly, she didn't want to be.

Slowly she nodded. "Alright." She sighed in defeat, "I'll give her a shot."

Jubilee let out a breath as she entered her room.

Dawn wasn't there.

Deciding to make the most of it, Jubilee quickly made her way to her side of the room. She opened one of her drawers and stuffed a pack of gum and a pair of sunglasses into her pocket.

"Oh, come on!"

Jubilee froze and turned towards the doors. She could just hear Dawn come closer with each word she spoke.

"I'm sure there are some here who don't have active powers, or whatever the correct terminology is here, that you let in there!"

"Dawn," Scott's voice sounded almost tired. Jubilee found herself somewhat impressed. Usually it took her, Remy, and Bobby together to get that tone in his voice, "The Danger Room is called the Danger Room for a reason: It's _dangerous_. Everyone goes through a training before we let them even go through one of the basic simulations in that thing."

"So I'll go through the training."

"Dawn. Just- no! You're not going to set foot in that place. Alright? Stop questioning me on it."

"But, Scott, I can take care of myself!"

Scott marched into the room, glanced at Jubilee for a moment before turning to his cousin who followed quickly on his heels, "No, you can't."

Dawn froze and just stared at her cousin. The look on her face sent an obvious message to both Scott and Jubilee (the latter of which was thankful that the look was not pointed at her): Those were the wrong words to say.

Shaking her head, Dawn pushed past her cousin and threw herself onto her bed. Mid air, Jubilee heard her mutter something that sounded like, "Just the same," but she couldn't be a hundred percent sure.

At least Scott had the decency to look somewhat guilty. His fingers tangled themselves in his hair as he sighed in frustration, "Dawn-"

"Go away!"

Taken aback at her sudden hostility, Scott tried again, "Dawn, I'm sorr-"

"GO AWAY!"

Her voice went up in pitch and both Scott and Jubilee winced at the shriek. Scott threw the Asian girl a beaten, lost look before stuffing his hands in his pockets and silently walking out of the room.

There was a full five seconds of silent awkwardness that felt more like five days to Jubilee. Feeling a sudden scratchiness in her throat, Jubilee cleared her throat with a deep sound before quickly making her way towards the door.

"I didn't mean it..."

The muffled apology made Jubilee freeze at the doorway. She slowly turned towards the other teenager, who was still laying headfirst in her mattress. Jubilee contemplated just walking out and leaving the other girl to herself, when, like a little annoying conscience, the Professor's voice piped in in the back of her head. She could just hear him reminding her to give the new student a chance. That things weren't always as we first perceived them.

Sighing, whether in frustration or surrender, Jubilee crossed her arms and frowned, "I was thinking about asking one of the teachers if a group of us could go to the mall tomorrow." Jubilee stayed silent until Dawn finally lifted her head and looked up at her with wide red eyes, "Wanna come?"

Dawn only had time to nod before the yellow obsessed girl walked out of the room.

xXx

The first day of the newest student had come to an end. The sun had set and the moon had risen. The night was filled with the sounds of crickets chirping quietly. Everyone was now asleep. Well, those that could sleep anyway.

Remy sat at the island in the kitchen, his cards strewn out in front of him in a game of solitaire. It was his fifth game of the night, and he was bored beyond belief. He contemplated going up and waking up one of the other students to keep himself occupied, but quickly dismissed it since most everyone had a hard time sleeping at times. If he had finally been able to fall asleep, he would have severely hurt the person who had the galls to wake him up. So instead, he finished his game, rubbed his eyes wearily, and gathered his cards. He froze for a moment and tilted his head to the side. Slowly, he stood up.

"Hey."

Remy froze.

He had heard her approaching, but had figured it was Rogue with another sleepless night. He hadn't thought about the new girl having trouble sleeping in a strange new place her first night. Remy was a little unsure of what to do. Should he turn around and let the girl see his demonic eyes or should he hurry out of the room to spare her the shock and let her think he was one of the many occupants angry with her? Damn, did he wish he had grabbed his sunglasses off the nightstand.

Apparently, his decision making skills were a little bit too slow for the new Californian.

"I-I'm sorry."

Remy pursed his lips and felt his heart go out to the girl. Without thinking, Remy slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder.

Dawn looked back at him with large, scared, eyes.

He could feel her fear.

And without so much as a word, _le Diable Blanc_ walked out of the room.


	4. Only The Best Place In The World!

"CAJUN!"

"_Que_?"

"Stop touchin' me and scoot over!"

"Aw! C'mon, _chere_!"

"Remy, scoot over and leave Rogue alone."

"_Mais_-" "Oh my God! Bobby, what the hell is this?!"

"Oh! Wow, I was wondering what happened to my gum from yesterday. Thanks, Kit."

"Gross!" "Damnit, Cajun, Ah ain't yer goddamn teddy bear!"

"But Remy ain't ever had one growin' up." "God, how'd you get your gum in the glove compartment?"

"Not quite sure." "Ya obviously ain't ever had common sense either."

"Everyone, quiet down!"

"You're disgusting, Drake!" "_Chere_, dat hurts!"

"That's nothing compared to what he left in the fridge last night."

"Good, now leave me alone!" "I'm afraid to ask."

"You should be." "Ya know Remy could never do dat, _cherie_."

"Is it always like this?" Dawn looked over at her neighbor curiously.

Bobby just grinned back, "Oh, no. Usually it's loud." He leaned back with a satisfied stretch, "Good thing only the well behaved students came today."

Well behaved?

Dawn's eyebrows shot up and she turned her attention to her other neighbor; a really big quiet guy. Peter or something like that. Dawn looked back at Bobby and forced a thin, shaky smile, "Yeah. Good..."

The elbow poke to her side caused her to jump about 10 feet. Amazing since the ceiling was only a few inches above her. Bobby leaned over, "Don't worry. You'll be fine. Just go with the flow."

Slowly, Dawn nodded, "Go with the flow. Right. I can totally do that."

Oh, she was so dead...

The blue SUV finally pulled into the parking lot just outside the mall's front doors. Everyone started jumping out before Scott even had time to turn off the car.

"Oh, eEeEwWwW!" Kitty jumped out of the car and hurriedly shook the sticky gum off her hand, "That's it. I'm not going anywhere after Bobby's been there!"

Grinning widely, Bobby winked over at Dawn, who stood awkwardly to the side, "Then you're gonna have to beat me there!" Without another word he took off sprinting across the parking lot and into the mall.

"DRAKE! Wait for everyone else!" Scott hollered after him, knowing full well that the boy wouldn't listen.

"No fair!" Kitty quickly started after him, "You cheated, y-you cheater!"

By the time the rest of the crew caught up to the two teens, Kitty had one arm hooked around Bobby's neck and the other gripped on a nearby pole, trying to keep him from getting ahead of her.

Dawn glanced up at her cousin and watched as he just shook his head in amusement.

"Petey!"

That was when Dawn saw the big doe eyes from the tiny brunette hit the stoic giant. She swore he almost swooned a little when she called him that, but he hid it well. Instead, he managed to turned to her, "Yes, Katya?"

"Could you help me, please?"

A batting of the eyelashes later and Bobby was literally picked up off the ground and Kitty went sprinting into the nearest electronics store while shouting a quick thank you over her shoulder.

Chuckling, Piotr gently set the shorter boy back down. Casually straightening his shirt, Bobby turned to the rest of the group, "So who wants to accompany me to the best place in the world?"

Grinning widely, Jubilee's hand childishly shot up in the air. And at the same time, both Bobby and Jubilee shouted, "TOY WORLD!" before sprinting off.

Dawn smiled after the two wistfully. The group almost reminded her of the Scoobies back home. The childish way Buffy, Willow, and Xander would act around Giles, forcing him into the stereotypical father role and her mom into her instinctive mother role.

The arm that hooked itself through hers and pulled her along snapped Dawn back from her memories and to the present. She looked over at Rogue in surprise, but the southern girl just smiled back, "All yer stuff is still comin' in, right?" Dawn just nodded, "So, let's go buy y'all some stuff for that room o' yers."

Dawn's smile stretched slightly and she glanced over at her cousin. He flashed her a smile of encouragement. But when her gaze ticked over to one of the two boys walking beside him, her smile faltered. She could feel his gaze staring at her intently from behind his sunglasses, and a feeling of guilt and uncomfortableness hit her chest. Suddenly very anxious, she turned back around and flashed Rogue a smile as she allowed the girl to drag her from store to store.

It was a good two hours later when Dawn finally noticed it. She had probably passed by it once or twice, but didn't notice it until after Scott decided it was time to round up everyone and make sure they were all ready to leave. She didn't even look to see if anyone saw her change her direction.

She found it somewhat amusing that there was a magic shop in the middle of a New York mall.

Curiosity got the best of her and seduced her in, as it so often did for the teen. The second her foot crossed the threshold and into the store, she froze.

And stared.

She stood there and just stared.

And he stared back.

After what seemed like forever, the store owner finally spoke up, "Can I help you?"

Dawn shook her head.

And stared.

She watched as the store owner seemed to bristle in frustration, "Then could you stop staring, please?!"

"Oh!" Dawn cleared her throat, somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry," She shrugged, "It's just..." She smiled nervously, "I didn't expect to see a S'klanith demon in a New York mall."

The demon froze from behind the counter and just stared at Dawn for a good five seconds before his face stretched out in a wide smile, "Well, well. Look what we have here." He stalked around the counter and towards Dawn. "A little girl who knows her demons..." He flashed her a sharp tooth-y predatory smile.

Dawn's eyebrows shot up and her expression suddenly turned very smug. Her mind went back to Spike the night of her sister's birthday. What was with non-evil demons trying to scare her? Sure, she was an easy mark, but geeze, after a couple times it started to be as affective as her sister's threats. Dawn just smirked at the demon and cocked her head to the side, "Are you trying to scare me?" Before the demon could respond, Dawn continued, "I'm from Sunnydale."

The demon threw back his head and let out a deep throaty laugh. For a moment, Dawn wasn't sure whether or not she should be scared. But the big bright smile on his practically white face and the shine of his sharp teeth told Dawn all she needed.

There was no way he was going to hurt her.

He swept his hands in a grand gesture, "Come on in, darling." Dawn smiled and practically skipped over to the counter, the demon following after her, "It's so nice to see someone from the Hellmouth again. It's been a little under a hundred years since I was last there." He walked behind the counter and leaned against it, his face extremely close to Dawn's, "So tell me, been involved in any of those ol' apocalypses there?"

A proud glint shone in Dawn's eyes, "Ever hear about what happened to the Master?"

"Alright, alright!" Bobby exited the toy store somewhat awkwardly. When he reached the group, he swatted Scott's hand off his ear. "I'm out, I'm out!" He pouted, "I didn't even get anything."

Rolling her eyes, Rogue scoffed, "We've only been here for about two hours."

Jubilee smiled and swung her new glittery baton. "Chica, two hours at the mall is _nothing_!" She tossed her baton spinning it into the air and caught it easily, "You ever wanna go on a _real_ shopping trip sometime, let me know."

Standing behind Kitty, Piotr looked over the group just as they all started to leave. He frowned and quickly searched around the entire area, "Where did Dawn go?"

If the situation had been different, the look on Scott's face would have been hilarious. His face was tight, his eyebrows shot up and his mouth hung open. He quickly scanned the area, "Shit!" He raced back the way he had just came, the other students running after him.

Back at the magick shop, Dawn and her new friend, Morey, were cracking up.

Dawn, who was standing on the counter, took in a much needed breath, "So, now she's standing on the table, a broom in her hand," She raised her hands in imitation, "swatting at the bunnies," She swatted the air with her invisible broom, "The entire time, she's panicking and not realizing that she's repeating the incantation over and over again!"

Morey was bent over the counter laughing, "So..." He took in a deep breath, "So, she just kept doubling the bunnies?!"

Dawn nodded, giggling profusely, "Yup. She didn't realize it until _after _Giles came back from his errands!"

Morey snickered, "I've gotta meet this friend of yours." He held out his hand to Dawn to help her down, "I mean, I realize it's a big transition for her, but she's been alive for so long, it really shouldn't be _that _hard!"

Just as Dawn grabbed Morey's hand, the bell beeped as each person walked through the door.

"_DAWN_!"

"Aaah!"

Dawn screamed and fell off the counter. Luckily, Morey's demon reflexes kicked in and he easily caught her in his arms before setting her back safely on the floor.

"Scott!" Dawn forced a smile, remembering for the first time that they were suppose to be leaving, "Uh..."

The stern look in his eyes quickly made Dawn shut her mouth, "So, when I say, 'it's time to go, let's go grab everyone,' you somehow mistook that as 'let's go wander off and talk to strangers?'"

Dawn's forced smile faltered and she shot the group an innocent expression, "I... uh... heh... I just wanted to see what was in here." She shrugged, "It's a magick shop." She added that last bit as if it somehow made it better. Inwardly, she winced. If it had been any of the Scoobies, or even her mom, they would have been more understanding, what with the life they led and their knowledge of Dawn's spazzy attention span. But what would a group of mutants, who probably thought magic was silly, think?

Realizing for the first time what kind of store they were in, Scott glanced around in surprise. His frown grew deeper and he shook his head, "It's time to go, Dawn." He waved his hand at her, "C'mon."

Head down in shame, Dawn started towards the group.

"Wait!"

Everyone turned back around only to get a nice view of Morey's butt. He was bent over the cabinet, rummaging through something on the other side. After a moment, the store owner's head popped back up and he quickly made his way over to Dawn. He grabbed one of her hands and held it between both of his. "Just a little something to welcome you to the East Coast, Sunshine." He winked at her, "May not be as fun as your hometown, but we still got a few things up our sleeves here." Dawn blinked and nodded nervously at the implication before turning around and joining her group. Morey waved, "Come back anytime, Sunshine!"

"...I understand that you're from a small town, but this is a _big_ city, Dawn. You _have_ to be careful. You can't just wander around alone. It's dangerous out there..."

Dawn rolled her eyes and leaned her head against the window. She could see the reflection of everyone else in the back seat, sitting quietly, listening to the lecture intently. Apparently, the new kid getting in trouble was more interesting then the new gadgets they just bought. Dawn turned her sight down to the object sitting in her hand. A ring with a symbol that looked like an upside chicken leg. Dawn knew what it meant though. It was the rune symbol of protection. She slipped it on her right hand's middle finger. It was a perfect fit. She glanced back at her cousin.

"...knows who that guy was! There's a lot of dangerous people out here, and for all you know he could have been one of them. That was a very stupid thing to do, Dawn. I can't watch after you 24/7. You need to be more careful. I need you to stop and think before you do something like that again. You need to start using _common sense_. _I expect that much from you. _You don't..."

"_No. No, it was _common sense_. But _nobody expects even that_ much from Dawn, do they? No, she has to be protected and coddled from the big bad world, well you know what? We are doing _

_nothing but turning her into a little idiot who is going to get us all killed."_

Dawn rolled her eyes and tried to hold back tears. It was always the same story, wasn't it? She had over heard Buffy, even God wasn't sure how many times, talk about her screw ups. And now Scott was doing it too. Dawn felt the anger tighten her chest and she swallowed back a bitter bile. Couldn't she do anything right? Her green eyes watered slightly, but she forced them back.

"_God_, you sound just like her..."

Everyone turned their attention to Dawn.

Scott frowned and glanced at her before turning his eyes back to the road. They were just now pulling into the garage. Softly, Scott asked, "What? What do you mean? Like who?"

"Buffy." Much to everyone's, especially Scott's, surprise, Dawn had spoken with a bitter edge in her words. She turned in her seat and stared at her cousin angrily. Her heart pounded in her chest and her blood rushed past her ears, "You act like just because I'm younger and can't do as much as you, that I must be so irresponsible and stupid." Dawn shook her head, "Well, I messed up and I'm sorry, OK?" She shrugged before pushing the car door open, "I don't need another a stupid lecture."

Scott stared at his cousin in shock as she quickly and silently climbed out of the now parked SUV, slamming the door behind her with a loud bang, causing everyone in the SUV to jump. She burst out of the garage and into the house, barely missing a black woman whom she didn't even take a second glance at.

Bright blue eyes watched the young teenager until she disappeared around the corner. Turning back towards the garage, Ororo raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at her fellow teacher, who was currently slipping out of the car, "Have an eventful trip?"

Scott shot her a look before making his way around the SUV and opening the trunk. He hefted the shopping bags out of the SUV. Barely batting an eyelash, Scott stepped to the side as the students snatched their bags. They slipped past Ororo and into the mansion.

As soon as the two were alone, Scott turned to his fellow peer, "I don't get it. Everything was going fine." He frowned and slammed the trunk closed, "We were having fun. She was getting things for her room, she was bonding with Rogue, she was laughing." Scott sighed and shook his head. He leaned back against the vehicle. Ororo joined him silently, "Then, when it was time to go, she disappears! _Disappears_! I found her in a _magic_ shop! What the hell is she doing in a magic shop?! Of all places?!" Scott sighed and rubbed his temples, years of experience keeping him from knocking his sunglasses out of place, "I screwed up. I lectured her in the car in front of her fellow students. I embarrassed her." Scott gave Ororo a pathetic look, "I'm a teacher. I should know how to handle a fifteen year old girl."

A light laugh escaped from the Goddess' lips, much to Scott's bewilderment. Ororo wrapped her small arm around his shoulders and looked up at him with a small and amused smile, "She is _fifteen_. And a normal, young, human, girl surrounded by those who can do much more than the average person. And the one person closest to her," She shot Scott a meaningful look, "is one of them." She squeezed his shoulders, "She needs your support, your friendship; to feel she belongs. She needs you to be her family, not her teacher."

A long, heavy sigh slowly slid out. Scott threw his head back and dragged both his hands through his hair, "But I know how to be a teacher." He dropped his head back down and stared at his feet, "I've never had a family before."

If he had been looking at Ororo, he would have seen the slightly offended look on her face. Instead of snapping at him, like her temper insisted, she spoke softly, "Of course you have," Scott looked up and gave her a small smile, "And you are an excellent brother."

"So, what's a _buffy_?"

The question was asked by Kitty, whose face scrunched up as she said the word. She brushed past Bobby and flopped onto the couch next to Rogue, shooting her best friend a confused look.

With a shrug, Bobby glanced at the stairs down the hall with a concerned gaze, "I think it's a name."

"A name?" The disgusted look came back on Kitty's face. She shook her head, "Ugh! Who would name a child that, _seriously_?" Kitty scoffed, "That's just like, pure evil right there."

"It's her sister." They all glanced up at Jubilee who was chewing her gum rapidly. She was standing by the window and staring out at the front yard. Her arms crossed her chest and she anxiously tapped her foot against the carpet. Her chewing and tapping froze when she noticed their gazes. She shrugged disdainfully, "I think, anyway." She looked away and continued both tapping and chewing. When she glanced back at the group, she noted the surprised looks. She rolled her eyes, "She talks in her sleep, OK?"

They all looked up as Scott quickly ran by the room and up the stairs, not saying a word to any of them.

Rolling her eyes, Rogue glared at Jubilee. She turned her attention over to Kitty and grinned, "Ya know, she's actually kinda nice." Jubilee glared at her, but said nothing, "We bought a whole lot of stuff fer her room and some clothes." Rogue's smile widened and she glanced at Jubilee before facing Kitty again.

If Rogue had watched Jubilee a little longer she would have noticed the girl roll her eyes in annoyance before stalking out of the room, not wanting to hear anymore of the conversation.

Someone knocked from the other side of the door. Dawn just sat there on the edge of her bed and stared at the wall on the other side of the room, at Jubilee's posters. The knock came again and Dawn didn't move. The door cracked open wide enough for Scott to poke his head in.

"Can I come in?"

Dawn just shrugged, that familiar bitterness rising in her throat again, "You're just gonna come in anyway."

Taking that as a yes, Scott entered, closing the door quietly behind him. Wordlessly, he made his way to Dawn and sat next to her on the bed. The two Summers sat there quietly for a few minutes.

Finally having the courage built up, Scott spoke, "Dawn, I'm so-"

"Don't." Her voice was crisp and sharp.

Scott didn't give up though, "I'm sorry, OK?"

Green eyes turned to a pair of sunglasses. It was then that Dawn realized she had no idea what her cousin's eye color was. Was it green like hers, or blue like her sisters? He certainly shared more physical characteristics with her than with Buffy, but Dawn still bet her money on blue. After all, for all Dawn knew, the green eyes were just part of her being The Key. That whole eyes being the windows to the soul thing and whatnot.

The apology didn't satiate the anger in Dawn, though. It just made it worse. Apologies always made it worse. And being the teenager she was, Dawn didn't bother to analyze it or try to keep it in check. Instead, she just scoffed at the closest person she had to family, and turned away, "Redundant much?"

Irritated, Scott rolled his eyes, "I'm apologizing, and you're still angry?" He shook his head before he wrapped a firm arm around Dawn's shoulders. She made no move to acknowledge it, "Look, Dawn. I shouldn't have lectured you in front of everyone, but... you _can't_ just run off like that." He squeezed her shoulders as she looked up at him curiously, "I have to watch out for all my students, and now that you're here... I'm-"

"On Dawn duty?"

"Yes, I'm... Wait. What?" Scott looked down at her in confusion. He let go of her shoulders and turned his body towards her, "What are you talking about?"

Dawn just shrugged and crossed her arms, "It's a phrase that Buffy and her friends use to always use whenever mom made somebody watch me." She looked down at her feet and began to slide them across the carpet, "I overheard Willow, one of Buffy's friends, say it to her." Dawn pursed her lips and bobbed her head in a nod, "Dawn duty; Dawn patrol, whatever."

"Hey," Scott grabbed Dawn's shoulders with both his hands and turned her to face him, so that she had to tuck one leg under the other on the bed. Dawn stared at her reflection in his sunglasses as he spoke, "No one is on _Dawn duty_. I don't know what kind of people Buffy hung around with, but nobody here thinks that."

"Jubilee does."

She really hadn't meant to say it. Again. It wasn't like her to tattle on others. Oh, wait. Yes, it was. But, like usual, it was still an accident. She really was a horrible secret keeper. This made Dawn wonder how she had ever kept her and her sister's secrets all these years.

With a tired sigh, Scott ran a hand through his hair and gave his cousin a small smile, "Jubilee is... well..." With a shake of his head, he cleared his throat deeply, "She's angry."

"At me."

"Not necessarily." Scott shook his head again, "Jubilee is an angry kid in general, Dawn. She lost both her parents at a young age, was adopted by a nice couple -who raised her for years- only to be handed over to a mob the second they found out she was a mutant. She _barely_ survived." Staring intently at Dawn, Scott added one last piece of information about her angry roommate, "It was pure luck that Jea-... _we_ found her when we did."

"Oh..." Dawn looked away, "I didn't know..."

Maybe she had more in common with her roommate than she thought. They had both almost died, in California no less. But then again, that's where the commonality stopped really. Sure, Dawn felt betrayed and abandoned by her family and friends, but Jubilee actually _was_. _Intentionally_. Dawn didn't know what she would do if that had happened to her. She might be angry too. Hell, she _was_ angry. Then again, she wasn't real. So maybe, she had more of a reason than Jubilee. Dawn closed her eyes in frustration. It was all about perspective...

And Dawn felt like she was losing hers.

"Dawn-"

"Look, Scott," Dawn looked back up, her green eyes shining with tears she stubbornly refused to let loose, "I'm fine." She rolled her eyes at his skeptical look and forced a small smile, "Or, I will be. You don't have to come running every time I throw a fit." This time, her smile was a little more genuine, "'Cause it's gonna happen a lot. Just ask Buffy."

Scott chuckled and nodded, "Okay." He shook his head and chopped his hand in the air, "No chasing after all tantrums." His gaze turned serious again, "I just want to make sure we're okay. I'm just not use to having fa-"

"We're fine!" Dawn's voice was a little louder than she wanted, but she laughed anyway and added, "As long as you don't go all soccer mom on me, anyway."

Scott smiled and nodded, "Deal."

xXx

"Is everything alright, child?"

Ororo was a little surprised at finding Jubilee, of all people, sitting in the library. She was curled up by the window, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Her sunglasses were clear across the floor, evidence of her strong throwing arm. Jubilee didn't respond to Ororo's question and instead just stared out the window. Ororo crossed the room and sat down next to the young Californian on the floor. She quietly wrapped an arm around Jubilee's shoulder. Taking comfort in the simple action, Jubilee moved to rest against Ororo's shoulder and sighed as she clutched her eyes shut.

"Why the library?"

Jubilee shrugged, "No one's ever here."

A small smile played on Ororo's lips. It was the kind of smile that meant she knew something no one else did. The kind of smile that everyone in the Institute loved and hated all at the same time. If Jubilee had seen that smile she would have gotten irritated and pulled angrily away from the woman. But as it was, Jubilee saw no such smile, and Ororo spoke her next words carefully.

"It is the new student who is troubling you."

Jubilee only stiffened but said nothing.

"Why is this?"

With a scoff and a violent pull out of the Goddess' arms, Jubilee twisted around and stared at Ororo dead in the eye. "_Why_?!" She was practically yelling at the woman, "She's here five minutes and she already lets everyone in the Institute know how she feels about mutants. Yet all anyone can talk about is how nice she is, or that she's Scott's cousin, the odd one out, or how she needs help and we can't turn her away! No one's talking about what this'll mean to the school or-or how it'll affect the students! I mean what's going to happen? We're just going to accept normal people now? Where will the mutants who need a place to stay go?!"

"Jubilee-"

"No! She shouldn't be here. She should be with someone else, someone who's-"

"Like her?"

Jubilee stopped her tirade and looked back up at Ororo. Her eyebrows were quipped up at a curious angle as she waited for an answer. Jubilee merely pursed her lips together and nodded slowly. "Yeah. Like her." It came out more as a whisper than anything else.

"Jubilee." Ororo pushed herself forward onto her knees and grasped the younger girl's hands between hers, "You must understand that Dawn Summers is where people _are_ like her." Before Jubilee could interrupt, Ororo hastily continued, "She is with her blood kin. She is with a group of teenagers who are going through changes and some who are suffering loss, just like her." She gave Jubilee another small smile, "Tell me, young firecracker," Ororo reached out a hand brushed it against Jubilee's newly cut hair, "Do you believe in Xavier's dream?"

Looking down, Jubilee found herself contemplating the answer. After a moment her answer came out in a quiet whisper, "I want to..."

"Then let this be a trial run."

"What?" Jubilee looked up in surprise.

"A trial run." Ororo placed her hand on Jubilee's cheek. "If we can get Dawn Summers to feel completely comfortable here and if we can get everyone in the school completely comfortable with Dawn, who's to say that equality between humans and mutants out in the world is unattainable?"

"So..." Jubilee took in a breath as she contemplated this new perspective, "Dawn is like a test drive?" Realization came over Jubilee's face and she looked sharply up at Ororo, "That's why the Professor didn't put up a fight. He wants to see if she can get along with us."

Frowning, Ororo slowly shook her head, "No, child. You have it wrong." At Jubilee's confused look, she continued, "He wants to see if _we_ can get along with _her_."


	5. Food Fight!

I'm sorry, but Dawn will not be gaining any mutant powers. I find a lot of stories are ruined by the main character gaining powers by the author's fancy whim. Though interesting possible fact: I read somewhere (whether or not it was a credible source is beyond me) that Joss Whedon originally planned on The Key (Dawn) being able to talk to the dead, but changed his mind. Ain't that neat?

Actually my story 'It Runs In The Family' will have Cordy being a mutant, though the mutation is something that actually could have happened during her Sunnydale years that she just didn't notice.

I want to make a little clarification on my view of Dawn concerning the students and teachers:

In BtVS we don't see much of Dawn's life outside the Scooby Gang. Yes, she has friends from school, but I always felt that she was much closer to the Scooby Gang. Whether this is because of the shared knowledge of the real workings of Sunnydale or just because she gets along with older people better, I'm not sure. However, I'm going for the latter. I think Dawn has the innate ability to incite the let's-take-care-of-the-little-girl aspect in the older population.

This is why I have yet to write many scenes with her and the other students. I want to establish her connections with the older populace first.

Also, I'm using a translating site for foreign languages. Feel free to correct any errors. I need it! :) THANKS! Also, anyone know where in Russia Piotr is from?

FYI: The Dawn/Logan scene, is boxing style. Not karate or tae kwon do. I know nothing about those.

xXx

The next morning...

"So you really like dis _fille_, don't ya?"

Rogue, just exiting the girls' locker room, jumped in surprise. She really shouldn't have been though. How often did Remy just hang out by the locker room waiting for her? Way too often to count. Pushing her white hair behind her ear, it finally hit her what he asked. "What? Who?" She really had no idea who he was talking about. She usually didn't.

Remy pushed himself off the wall and started towards the Danger Room, Rogue matching his pace. He really did look good in that uniform...

"De _nouvelle fille,_" he turned his ever intense gaze to Rogue, knocking her out of her horny teenage oh-so-bad-for-her feelings, "Dawn."

Crossing her arms, Rogue shrugged her shoulders, "Seems nice enough," Rogue suddenly frowned as a thought crossed her mind. Angered by it, she cut in front of Remy and glared at him. She placed her hands on her hips, "What eva' happened to givin' her a chance, Remy Lebeau?"

"Woah!" Remy rose both his hands up in surrender. Whenever Rogue used his full name it was a sign she was mad at him. Thank God she didn't know his middle name, "Down, girl. I ain't mean nothin' by it. I ain't talked much to her anyway. Just askin'," he lowered his arms and shrugged, "So, what d'ya think we're gonna do t'day?"

Mind now taken off the of their newest student, Rogue grinned at the new subject. With a swing of her arms Rogue turned around and started towards the Danger Room again.

Grinning, but completely lost to Rogue's suddenly bright mood, Remy hurried after her, "What's with the sudden good mood,_ chere_? Ya know somethin' I don't?"

"Oh, Ah'm sure," she teased, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, "As fer the Danger Room? Logan's training," her grin widened, "Ah'm gonna be dead tired at the end of it," the excitement lifted in her voice.

Chuckling, Remy wrapped an arm around a now tense Rogue's shoulder, "Dat mean you gonna be too tired t'push me away,_ chere_?"

With a roll of eyes, Rogue shoved Remy off her, "Ah'll never be too tired fer that, Swamp Rat," she smiled at him in mock sweetness before pushing the button on the control panel to enter the Danger Room.

"_Please?!_"

"NO!"

"C'mon! I _promise_ I'll be careful! Like, _super_ careful and everything! I-I won't leave your side and-and I'll even wear safety padding like a complete dork."

Remy and Rogue both froze in the door way. In front of them, in the center of the room, stood Scott and Dawn. Scott's arms were crossed over his chest sternly, while Dawn was in front of him with her hands clasped together in front of her, hitting her cousin with puppy dog eyes.

"Dawn, you're too inexperienced, y-"

"How am I suppose to get experience if you won't let me do anything?" her hands now hung limply by her sides as she fixed her cousin with a hard stare.

"Well," Rogue turned to Remy, "looks like the two made up."

"'Parently..." Remy muttered as the two walked towards one side of the room.

Bobby, Kitty, Piotr, Jubilee, and Logan stood in a small group as they watched the argument. Logan was obviously starting to get irritated.

"It's too dangerous, Dawn! We've gone over this!"

"I can handle it!"

"Dawn-"

"God _Damnit_!" Logan's voice shot out, causing everyone to jump. He stalked towards the cousins and stepped between them. He glared at Scott, "If ya don't wanna train the kid, I'll pull some sessions with her. Now end this so we can start!"

Glaring angrily at Logan for the interruption, Scott grabbed Dawn's upper arm and pulled her out of the room.

Satisfied, Logan turned to the group, "All right. I ain't cuttin' anyone any slack! Let's start."

"Dawn," Scott turned to her the moment the door to the Danger Room closed, "are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," she stated with a certainty, "Why is it such a big deal?" she waved her arms at the door, "It's not a big deal for them!"

"That's different!" Scott shouted, exasperated.

"How?!" Dawn crossed her arms and gave her cousin an I-dare-you-to-say-it-face. Oh, she knew what he was going to say.

Scott rolled his eyes, not at all affected by her, "You know how."

Jutting her chin out, Dawn frowned and her eyes softened a little, "Because they're mutants?" she had heard the same basic argument all her life. Well... since she was 12 anyway. So really only 3 years, but whatever. Same diff.

"Well," Scott didn't even stumble over his words, obviously unaware of how it sounded in Dawn's ears, "Yes."

"Can we say double standard?" she scoffed and shook her head.

"Look, Dawn," Scott grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye, "I'm sorry, but-"

"But I don't have special powers," she spat back at him. She shook her head and rolled her eyes once more before throwing her arms up to knock his off her shoulders. With a glare followed by a turn of the heel, Dawn stomped away from her cousin, "Whatever. I'll just go find something else to do."

Scott sighed and watched as Dawn marched off. He ran a tired hand through his hair, wondering whether or not he should go after her. Remembering their conversation the night before, he headed back to the Danger Room.

God, was she a handful.

xXx

For the entire morning, while everyone else spent it away in the Danger Room, Dawn wandered the halls of the Institute. Her arms crossed and her gait slow, she really wasn't paying too much attention to her whereabouts. Her inner thoughts were a rant of how unfair Scott was and how she should be able to fight in the Danger Room too. Admittedly, it was a lot like her arguments with Buffy on letting her go on patrol. Really, Dawn was the same age Buffy and the Scoobies were when they started patrolling. She really didn't see the big deal.

_BAMF!_

"_AAAAHHHH!"_

Dawn fell backwards.

"I'm so sorry. Are you OK?"

Her first thought was that her butt hurt. Her second was that he was blue. And not the fuzzy cookie monster kind that the doctor downstairs was. Nope, he was definitely demony. The ears, the tail, the teeth, even the amber eyes screamed _demon!_ If she had been in Sunnydale, she would have screamed and high tailed it outta there.

She must have been staring, because he looked away awkwardly. Dawn watched with surprise as his blue face turned somewhat purple and a look of shame washed over his features. She felt bad now. This was a school of mutants. He obviously had no more control over how he looked anymore than she did.

A nervous chuckle rose in her throat and she offered him a bright smile, "I'm fine. You just surprised me," without a thought, Dawn held out her hand.

With a smile, the blue demony man took it between his three fingered hand and helped pull her to her feet.

"I'm Dawn," she smiled brightly at him.

"My name is Kurt Vagner."

"Well, I..." her bright smile faded and looked around in confusion, as if looking for something. When she didn't find what she was looking for she turned back to Kurt, "Do you smell that? What is it?"

"Oh!" he chuckled in embarrassment, "Zet would be ze smoke."

"Smoke?" Dawn looked around. She was pretty sure she didn't see any smoke.

"_Ja._"

_BAMF!_

And with a poof of smelly smoke he was gone. Dawn's eyes (which were suddenly very dry) were incredibly wide. Her mouth fell open and she almost coughed on the taste of the ashy smell, "Woah..."

"I know."

Dawn spun around and saw nothing behind her. Brow furrowed, she turned in circles looking for her new friend.

"Up here!"

Slowly, she rose her head, only to see Kurt Wagner hanging upside from the ceiling a huge, if not mischievous, smile plastered on his face.

Yup. Definitely demony.

This place was _so_ cool!

"So..."_ BAMF! _Kurt suddenly in front of Dawn, "Can you like do that trick with other people?" Dawn shot a hopeful grin at him. If she couldn't be in the Danger Room then she sure as hell was gonna do something fun.

Kurt grinned back at her with that mischievous smile and held out his hand. Dawn's heart thumped in her throat as she slipped hers into his grasp, "Hold on."

_BAMF!_

Dawn coughed past the smoke and fought off a big dizzying feeling, "Oh wow..."

Kurt was kind enough to hold her as she stumbled to the side, "It takes a little getting use to et first," he offered in helpful explanation.

"Oh, most definitely," Dawn muttered as she tried to regain her balance, "Um... As fun as that was, I think I'm gonna sit the next one out."

Luckily, she didn't hurt his feelings and he chuckled knowingly, "_Nicht ein problem_."

Dawn slipped from his arms and let herself slide down the wall to the floor. She gave him a weak smile as he sat next to her. Glancing around her, Dawn took in her new surroundings. She was obviously still in the Institute, but probably on the other side. That seemed the most likely, she could actually see the sun when she looked out the window here, something she couldn't do wherever she was before.

Turning back to Kurt, Dawn was slightly surprised to find him studying her.

He smiled at her shyly, "You are Scott's little cousin?"

Slowly, Dawn nodded, "Yeah."

"Velcome to de Xavier Institute."

Including the meeting she had with the Professor, that was the first real welcome Dawn had received since she'd been here. It wasn't until he said it that Dawn realized just how badly she had been wanting to hear it.

"Thanks," she whispered, "Ya know, you're the first one to say that."

"My first few days vere bed too," he confided, "It is hard to teach vhen you look like de monster in de closet."

Dawn smiled and shook her head, "Trust me, you look nothing like the monster in the closet." she rolled her head towards him and their eyes connected, "He has green skin," a beat later, "and sings."

Her mind had suddenly went back to one of the days when she visited Angel in Los Angeles, actually right before she and Giles had gotten on the plane. They had left from one of the airports in Los Angeles. She had been "inspecting" Angel's new office/hotel when she opened a door and met Lorne. That had incited a screaming contest between the squeaky teenager and the sopranino demon. And later caused Dawn to make a ton of Lorne Greene jokes, much to The Host's annoyance.

Kurt laughed. It was surprisingly boyish. He turned his amber eyes back to Dawn and gave her a big childish smile, "It vill get better."

Dawn just gave a small, fake, smile.

xXx

"Alright, everyone, settle down!" Ororo's voice rose above the ruckus. Slowly, but surely, the students sat down in their seats one by one.

Dawn had already chosen her seat in the way back of the classroom, hoping to remain out of sight. Unfortunately, the classroom wasn't like the others she was use to. Instead of little personal desks, there were tables where she would have to share with one other student. She was really not looking forward to today, the first day of class.

"Hey," Dawn spun around and looked up at Bobby Drake, "Mind if I sit here?"

"Uh..." Dawn blinked stupidly, "Y-yeah," she stammered and hurriedly slid her notebooks clear of the other side, "Sure."

"Thanks," Bobby slipped into his seat and pulled one notebook out of his bag. He glanced at her before clearing his throat to catch her attention, "So, how are you enjoying Mutant High?"

"Uhm..." Dawn hesitated. Honestly, she wasn't. But she wasn't about to tell him that, "It's alright, I guess."

"Still getting use to it, huh?" he laughingly supplied then shrugged carelessly, "Yeah, on my first day I accidentally froze the water pipes," at Dawn's surprise expression, he continued, "No running water for three days. _Everyone_ hated me."

Dawn's eyes went wide, "Oh, God. A bunch of sweaty and smelly teens for three days?" Dawn shook her head. Suddenly, she found herself telling her own story, "Once, at my old school, this guy Kevin decided to skip class with his friends and hang out in the basement with all the pipes and stuff."

"Oh God." Bobby interrupted, "This is gonna be a stupidity story, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah." Dawn grinned, "So they were tossing a football or basketball or something back and forth and hit one of the pipes. The entire school smelt like sewage for a week," Bobby hissed, just trying to imagine the smell, but Dawn hadn't finished, "I had to sit next to Kevin in art class. It took him about a month to get the entire smell off of him."

"Wow." Bobby gave her a smile, "Sounds like you've had just a _terrible_ life."

"You have no idea."

"Drake! Summers!"

The teens both snapped to attention. Their teacher, Ororo Munroe was staring at them with a firm frown on her face, "Since you both seem to know so much about the history of New York, how about you tell me one fact about it? Each."

"Uh..." Bobby put on an overacted thinking face. He tapped his finger against his chin and hummed, "By law the penalty for jumping off a building is death." The room grew silent as everybody stared at him, Ororo Munroe's face showing just how displeased she was, "What?! It's true! It's a real law by the state of New York!"

"Robert Drake," she started, "I expect you to come to class pre-"

"At one point, New York City was the U.S. capital."

Everyone now turned their attention to Dawn. Suddenly feeling very small, she leaned back and slid down a little in her seat. Why'd she have to speak?

"That's true," was Ororo's surprised response, "before Washington D.C. became the U.S. capital, New York City was for five years," Ororo's eyes never left Dawn, "Any idea when?"

"Um..." Dawn licked her lips and thought for a moment, "wasn't around the 1790's?"

Any sign of disappointment from the teacher was now gone and replaced with bright, happy, blue eyes, "Yes! Between 1785 and 1790, very good, Dawn."

Dawn offered a weak smile before sliding down even further in her seat. Damn it... why'd she have to open her mouth. Now everyone was gonna think she was a goody-goody.

"Hey," green eyes met a pair ice blue ones. A grin spread across Bobby's face, "Thanks for gettin' her off my back."

"Oh, it was no problem."

Oh, yeah...

That's why she opened her mouth... heh...

"Alright, class."

It was towards the end of her history class, and Dawn was raring to go. She had once been told that she had the attention span of a monkey in a mall. Of course the comparison had been made by her sister, whom Dawn had always thought had the attention span of a cheerleader in a mall. Way worse in her opinion. But nevertheless, Dawn was feeling the unwelcome side effects of a two hour long class. Sure, they got breaks, but a break was useless in Dawn's opinion. Just made the class drag on even longer. She could tell that Bobby was on board with her when it came to getting out of the classroom. He had already gathered his books and was now sitting on the edge of his seat, his feet tapping restlessly against the tiled floor.

"Before you are dismissed-" A collected sigh of _Oohhs!_ filled the room. It was a universal thing, that warning at the end of the class that you were getting homework just when you thought you were getting out of there scott-free, "I want each of you to look up your hometown and its history."

Dawn's back was suddenly very straight. What?

"I want to know how your town was founded."

Her eyes grew wide. No, no! Not good.

"How and why your family moved there."

Dawn was having difficulty swallowing. Maybe she could just choke to death on her own spit here? Please...

"And any interesting facts on it."

Oh, _God_...

"And if any of you have any problems with writing a paper on your hometown, just see me after class or set an appointment with me," Ororo smiled brightly, "You are dismissed."

The entire room rushed past Dawn, who was still stuck in her seat. Oh, she was hating her life right now. Sooo much...

"Hey."

Dawn, ever the actress, jumped out of her seat and turned to Bobby with a big smile, "Yeah?"

Oh, Dawn so did not miss the suspicious look he was eying her way.

"Wanna eat lunch with me and my friends?"

"Uh..." the question took her by surprise, but Dawn suddenly had a flash of her eating in a bathroom stall all by her lonesome. What could it hurt? "Sure!"

xXx

What could it hurt...

She _really _needed to stop asking questions. Seriously.

"What _is_ this?" Dawn lifted her fork from her plate and stared at the green stiff noodle that hung off the utensil.

Sitting on the other side of the table, and a seat down was the guy with demon eyes Dawn had run into the other night. He too was staring at his plate with a heavy frown, "Thought today was Guthrie's day to cook."

"It was," Rogue, who was sitting across from him and next to Dawn, was trying to mash down the clumps in her mashed potatoes, but they just wouldn't seem to go away, "He's sick."

"What?" "_Mon Deiu_." "No..." "..."

Dawn looked around the table at Rogue and the four others with wide eyes, "What?"

Bobby, sitting on Dawn's other side, leaned over and said as quietly as possible, "Kitty cooked."

Dawn stared back down at her plate, "I take it she's a bad cook."

A snort of laughter from Bobby caused Dawn to jump, "That's the understatement of the century."

One of the plates slid across the table as Rogue pushed it away from her. She leaned back in her chair and let out a dramatic sigh, "Guess that means this gal's just gonna have to starve 'til dinner."

Dawn could almost hear Bobby rolling his eyes. She soon realized why.

"Well," Dawn's attention turned to Remy (Is that what Scott called him?), "Den m'be you'll let dis _homme _take ya t' dinner. A nice good Southern style dinner."

Much to everyone's surprise, Rogue's stomach growled. Flushing, she covered up her embarrassment with a quick laugh. Then she through a haughty look towards Remy, "Remy, I ain't goin' nowhere with you if you had all the Gumbo in the world."

Dawn glanced over at Remy and watched as a large smile stretched across his face. Oh, he had it bad for Rogue! She had seen that kind of smile once before. Spike had that same smile on his face the day she told him that Buffy worried about what she was going to do if he ever got rid of the chip.

Even with sunglasses on, Dawn was fully aware when Remy's gaze turned to her. She fought down her amused smile and took a drink of her Sprite all nonchalantly.

"Can't believe Ah gotta try n' write a report about Caldecott," annoyance filled Rogue's voice as she played with food.

"Aw! C'mon, _chere_, ain't that bad!"

"Says you!" Rogue placed her fork down and frowned, she glared heatedly at the other Southerner, "You getta write about New Orleans. Ain't nothin' borin' there."

"Well, you could just write about the people you knew there," Bobby supplied, "I'm not quite sure what I'm gonna write about Boston."

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm gonna write," Jubilee chimed in happily, "There's a ton of stuff on Beverly Hills to write about!"

"Lucky..." Rogue muttered.

"What about you, Petey," Jubilee looked over at the large guy sitting across from her, next to Rogue, "Lookin' forward to writing about Russia?"

Dawn's eyebrows peeked in interest and she leaned over to look around Rogue. The tall guy gave a small nostalgic smile, "_Da_. Dere are many interesting historic facts."

"What about you, Dawn?" Dawn stiffened and gave a nervous smile as Bobby moved the attention to her.

She gave them all a nervous smile, "Well, Sunnydale's a pretty small town. There's kinda a reason why no one's ever heard of it," Ain't that the truth...

"Oh, small towns..." Bobby shook his head in amusement. As everyone looked over at him, he blinked, "That's all I got."

"AH!"

Everyone looked over at Rogue, only to see a streak of mash potatoes on her face, "Swamp Rat!" the belle screeched before scooping a gloved handful of stiff green noodles and chucking them in retaliation.

And so began the food fight.

xXx

Oh, Dawn could not stop giggling. As first days at school went, this one wasn't so bad. Sure, at one point she's gotta write a report about Sunnydale, but otherwise it was actually a pretty good day. She made friends, mainly Kurt, Bobby, and Rogue, she had a food fight – always a good time – and now she was downstairs taking a shower in the girl's changing room to wash off the food gook.

The other girls – Rogue, Jubilee, and Kitty – couldn't stop laughing either.

Dawn was the first one done. She quickly changed into a pair of gray X-sweats and pulled her wet hair into a low ponytail. She giggled along with the others as they continued to chat about the looks on the teachers' faces when they came in to see the entire cafeteria covered with green noodles. The look on Scott's face was especially funny to her. It reminded her of the look Buffy got when she told her she was failing school.

Suddenly hit with the thought of her sister, Dawn's laughter subsided. The others didn't notice as they continued to chat happily.

Dawn's eyes drifted towards Kitty's pile of clothes and landed on her blue and white beaded necklace.

xXx

"Where do ya think yer goin'?"

The question caused Dawn to stop in her tracks. Oh, God, he knew! With an innocent twist, green eyes met brown and Dawn smiled up at him nervously, "Mr. Logan!" cue innocent voice, "I was just heading up to my room. What's up?"

Logan crossed his arms over his chest and looked her up and down, as if sizing her up. Finally, he nodded as if she had passed some sort of test, "You really wanna take part in the Danger Room sessions?"

Dawn's eyes lit up and she shot him with a hopeful smile, "Yes! I really do!"

A low deep _Hmm_ came from the man, who was actually just barely taller than Dawn, "Follow me, kid."

Dawn bristled a bit at the nickname. With a scowl, she marched behind him, glowering at his back, "I'm _not_ a kid!"

The man didn't even have the decency to look over his shoulder as he retorted with a, "Yes, you are."

An indignant squeak emitted from Dawn as she continued to follow Logan up from the basement and outside onto the over sized front lawn... court yard... or whatever they called it. Dawn followed the hairy man a few yards away from the school. When he finally stopped he turned around to face her. Dawn stood there awkwardly as he seemed to size her up again.

Finally, Dawn had enough of it, "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Not responding to her question, he jutted his chin out at her, "Get in yer stance."

"Huh?" Dawn blinked, taking a second to comprehend what he was telling her to do. At his annoyed stare, Dawn decided the best thing to do was to listen and comply with whatever he said, "OK...," she took the position. She had watched Giles train Buffy enough to know that very basic stance.

Apparently, she watched it wrong.

"Your legs are too close together, looks like yer on a balance beam," he tapped her shoulder hard, and Dawn stumbled to the side, "It's too easy fer someone to knock ya down," he began circling her, his eyes watching her carefully, "Keep 'em shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent," Dawn followed instruction, "Keep yer arms up and yer face protected," doing as told, Dawn missed the narrowing of his eyes.

A sharp pain shot from Dawn's stomach and out her mouth. Her arms now tightly wrapped around her torso, she glared at Logan, "What the hell was that for?!"

"Yer not fit to pull Danger Room sessions with that wound."

Aw, crap.

"Hank told you," It was more a statement than a question.

Logan rose one eyebrow, "No, yer favorin' that side," He frowned and reached into one of his pockets. Dawn made a face when he pulled out a cigar and lit it, "What'd ya do to it?"

Without thinking, Dawn went off, "Why is everyone suddenly all concerned with what happened? It's not like it was a big deal."

If possible, Logan's eyebrow went up even further, "Didn't say it was," though that little blow up proved otherwise. Logan had noticed her stomach the first time Summers introduced them. He also noticed that the old man with her took special care to keep her from straining it.

Dawn looked down at her feet, slightly embarrassed at her little blow up. She stayed silent though, trying to wait out his expectant stare. What was with people and staring at her all intently and stuff for? Did she have a sign on her that said 'look at me! Figure me out and get a prize!'? Sure, Scott she could understand, and she definitely didn't mind Bobby's inquiries, but geeze... this guy was _old_!

With a defeated sigh and a roll of her eyes, Dawn toed the tip of her shoe in the ground, "_I_ didn't _do_ anything to it."

Logan stayed silent a moment, a frown on his features as he took in the statement. If she hadn't done it... then..., "What happened?"

Dawn shot Logan with a heated glare. It would have been enough to make anyone else take a step back, Logan however stood there as steady as could be, waiting expectantly. Reluctantly, Dawn spoke, "An ugly little man with an ugly little knife," and before Logan could reply, Dawn turned and hurried back into the Institute. She would have ran, but her stomach was killing her. She was too scared to look down, but God, she hoped that he hadn't reopened her stitches. She had done that on her own twice already.

When she reached the door, Dawn looked over her shoulder, only to not see Logan. He was gone. Unsure whether or not she should be grateful, she quickly reentered. She hurried past the other students, waving deftly as a few said hello, and quickly entered the elevator to take her downstairs. When it dinged, she was out of elevator and rushing into the medical room.

Dawn froze.

Rogue looked up at her and smiled wearily, "Hey, Dawn!" Dr. McCoy looked up from his conversation with the older girl and smiled brightly at Dawn, "So? We done?"

Dawn blinked. Did Rogue just...

The Doctor frowned at Rogue, but nodded in consent.

Rogue rushed past Dawn, "See ya later, sugar!" and hurried out of the medical bay.

"So, Miss Summers, what can I do for you?"

Dawn turned back to Hank and smiled nervously, "Um, I think Logan may have uh..." she motioned to her stomach, "he kinda found out and hit me in the stomach."

The blue fuzzy doctor frowned at that, but helped her jump up on the hospital bed, "Lift up your shirt," Dawn did as told and looked down at her stomach for the first time. It actually didn't look that bad. Hank seemed to agree, "Hmm... he didn't hurt much. I'd actually say you could go ahead and get those stitches removed if you wanted to."

"Really?!"

"Yes, ma'am," Hank smiled is feral smile and Dawn couldn't help her own giddy smile in return, "Lay back on the bed and we'll get started."

xXx

As days went, it was a pretty good day.

Too bad it wasn't an equally good night.

Remy Lebeau was in the kitchen in the middle of the night again. He was once again playing with his cards, a non-ending game of solitaire. The cards were old and worn, the only ones he refused to use during a fight. He had owned these for years. A smile quirked up his lips at the thought of his brother, who had bought him these very cards. This was his home now, but _Deiu_ how he missed New Orleans.

Remy stiffened and turned his head towards the door. Someone was coming...

Sure enough, Dawn Summers entered the kitchen dressed in a pair of long purple Scooby Doo pajama pants and a light purple spaghetti strap shirt. She paused and stared back at him for a second before she headed towards one of the cupboards. Remy watched silently as she pulled out a bowl and three different kinds of cereal. Pouring a little of each into the bowl, she then put them back and headed to the fridge to grab some milk.

When her strange cereal was complete she placed it on the counter just across from him and stared back at him.

"Ya know, you really should look into that," she quipped up then took a bite of her weird cereal.

Yeah, he was very confused now. If there was one thing he aced at though, it was humoring pretty young girls, "Look into what?"

"That staring intently thing," she said nonchalantly, "I mean, it great, especially if you're going for that whole 'I'm dark and mysterious' vibe, but even then it only works in doses," she stopped eating and stared back at him for a moment, "You startled me the other night," she rolled her eyes at his skeptical look, "OK, I was _somewhat_ scared, but c'mon," she shot him with an amused look, "I freaked out the day my sister put in those fake vampire teeth."

OK, so that had been a long time ago, and Buffy had convinced her that she had been turned into a vampire. An eleven year old Dawn was going to freak out about that.

Suddenly, Dawn blinked as a couple of cards were lain down in front of her. Looking up at the man across from her, she smiled when she realized he was dealing her in.

"You any good at poker,_ mon soleil_?"


	6. Night Out prt 1

Norman Bates Killer in Psycho

Corey Heart Sings 'I Wear My Sunglasses At Night'

I'd like to point out that Dawn's klepto problem actually started in season 5. I think the first clip of her stealing something was in the episode 'Intervention' while she was at Anya's and Xander's apartment.

I'm not too thrilled with this chapter, but decided to post it anyway. It's taken me forever to write it and with classes in session and working full time, it's hard to get the chance to check it and rewrite it and blah blah blah. I figure, if I need to change something incredibly important or if it just keeps on buggin' me, I can rewrite it later. :)

xXx

"_Mon Deiu_!" Remy shot an exasperated look across the table, "I don't t'ink I _ever_ met anyone as bad at poker as you are!"

Dawn gave him a flustered smile, "Yeah, I know," she shrugged carelessly. Poker had never really been her thing. The only card game besides Go Fish that she had any skill in was Rummy and even that was very basic as Spike had just started teaching her that. Most of the games she played were board games with Xander and Anya and if Buffy ever found out her sister had tried to play poker... well, the results would have been less than good, "but I could so beat your butt in _Life_, it'd make you cry."

Remy studied her for a moment before nodding, "I believe that," he snatched his cards from out of her hands and mixed them back into the deck, "yer tells are hard t'miss, _chere_, you should work on dat."

Dawn just nodded and fought down a smile. She shot him a look, "At least I don't go all Norman Bates when somebody bends my cards."

"Hey!" Remy straightened and glared at Dawn, amusement evident in his sunglasses-free eyes, a seldom occurrence, "It ruins da cards! Can't go around just bendin' cards, _le fol_."

Dawn smiled brightly at Remy. She didn't notice the glare being sent their way by the young Asian girl in the corner.

Jubilee, try as she might, just couldn't stop glancing up at Dawn and Remy. It had been a week and a half since Dawn moved in. For the entire first week she had been here, the Dawn and Remy had barely said a word to each other. Then, out of nowhere, the two went from barely looking at each other to becoming the best of friends. OK, so she was suppose to be all nice and friendly, trying to give Dawn the benefit of the doubt, but c'mon! It was like a friendship blossomed over night. With Remy! She shook her head and looked back down at her notebook. She was trying to write her report on Beverly Hills, but she kept getting distracted. With a frustrated sigh, Jubilee gripped her notebook and left the entertainment room.

The _buzz!_ of the doorbell caught the girl's attention. Looking around, she realized she was the closest person to the front door. With a groan and a roll of her eyes she set her notebook down on one of the decorative end tables and swung open the door.

Standing outside was a delivery man.

"Got a package for a Dawn Summers," the man thrust the clip board in her hands. Her frowned deepened as she signed her name and pushed it back to the man. He in turn, reached down, picked up a fairly large box, and shoved it into her arms, not even waiting to make sure she had a good grip.

The box slipped and fell from her grasp with a heavy thud. It really was pretty heavy.

Jubilee stared at the box for a moment then sighed heavily. There really was only one thing to do. Heading back the way she came, she stuck her head in the room. She froze for a split second when she noticed Rogue, Bobby, and Kitty had joined the two. It took everything Jubilee had in that split moment to keep from falling apart.

She quickly cleared her throat to try and catch their attention. Her clenched teeth began to ache when no one noticed her. Not even Remy! She rolled her eyes and opted to just speak to grab their attention, "Dawn, there's a package for you."

Immediately, the brunette snapped her attention to Jubilee. With wide eyes, she stared at the girl for a moment, as if taking a second to comprehend the statement. Dawn then jumped abruptly from her seat and dashed out to the foyer. Jubilee's heart plummeted as her friends followed suit, their curiosity peaked.

Following her friends, she wasn't at all surprised to see Scott and Professor Xavier now talking in the foyer. Ever since Jean's death, the Professor insisted on a daily stroll around the Institute grounds with her surviving fiancé. Jubilee wasn't sure what they talked about, but she imagined it was all technical stuff. She honestly couldn't see Scott being all with the touchy feely. He was too professional, too serious.

"Why is 'The Scooby Gang' on the return address?" Scott questioned, his eyebrows crunched together.

Dawn just let out an excited squeal before ripping off the tape and tossing it behind her. Or she tried to. It was still all sticky on her fingers. Dawn shook her hand and glared at the tape. She waved it again. And again. And again. Finally, Dawn scowled and turned around. She pressed her hand against Scott's pant leg and grinned as the infernal tape stuck to him.

"Dawn..." the amusement in his voice was hard to miss.

Dawn just grinned brightly at him and turned back to the box. She lifted up the flaps and froze. Slowly she took out a pink stuffed pig.

"Oh, God!" came Scott's uncharacteristic shout, "You guys actually kept that thing?"

"Duh!" Dawn exclaimed and hugged it tightly to her chest, "Like we'd go anywhere without Mr. Gordo," she set him down gently next to her leg and continued to peruse through the box. A small sad smile floated on her lips as she slowly pulled out a silver cross necklace. Dawn didn't say a word as she clasped it around her neck and took out a couple more trinkets. Nothing that special really. She pulled out a red leather jacket (Buffy hadn't worn it since her graduation), an over sized Hawaiian shirt (which got a snort of laughter from her before she quickly slipped it on), and a couple of pictures and home video tapes. The next thing that was in the box made the smile on her face disappear. She stared at the object dejectedly. It was hard for anyone to miss the sudden emotional pain that flashed across her face. Before Jubilee had a chance to see what it was, Dawn had quickly stuffed it back in the box as well as all the other items.

She picked up the box and flashed the group an obviously forced smile, "I'm just gonna take this to my room," without another word, Dawn rushed up the stairs, everyone staring curiously at her back.

Jubilee frowned.

xXx

Dawn set the box down gently on her bed and stared at it for a good moment before slowly taking the items out. She hung up the coat and Hawaiian shirt in her closet, placed her pictures on her desk and bedside table, and placed her the small collection of books under the bed – didn't need anyone poking around her ancient texts, that's for sure. Then it was time to grab the trinket that had caused Dawn to go somewhat emotional. Slowly, she pulled out the flashy umbrella and smiled down at the plaque.

_Buffy Summers_

_Class Protector_

The umbrella shimmered as Dawn twirled it in her hand before setting it gently on her desk next to a photo of Buffy and Joyce. Buffy was dressed in her pink prom dress, holding the umbrella in her hands while Joyce stood proudly next to her oldest daughter, her arm wrapped around Buffy's waist.

Taking in a deep breath, Dawn took a step away from the desk and pulled Mr. Gordo out of the box and wrapped her arms tightly around him. She could still smell Buffy's favorite perfume on the stuffed animal. Not that she wore the perfume often, but it was still nice.

She didn't move when the door squeaked open.

Slowly, stepping into the room, Jubilee stared at Dawn with a weary gaze. She cleared her throat, catching the other girl's attention.

Jubilee shrugged carelessly and kept her eyes glued to Mr. Gordo, "A group of us are sneaking out tonight," Dawn frowned and scrunched her eyebrows in thought, "there's this club."

Dawn merely nodded as she set Mr. Gordo on her bed. She followed the stuffed toy and flopped on the bed, "You know," Jubilee looked up in surprise, "I use to be so jealous of Buffy. I mean, she had the close friends, she got everything first, and when I turned the age she started doing things, I was told I wasn't allowed," Dawn shook her head and her eyes stung, "I was the bratty kid sister always needing her help," her eyes filled up with tears, "I-I wish she was here now."

Dawn took in a deep shaky breath and shot an embarrassed look at Jubilee, "S-sorry," Dawn turned fully to the girl, a sad look on her face, "I know you don't wanna here my sob story," she gave her a watery smile, "I know we aren't the best of friends, an-and I'm not suggesting we should be, but I really do appreciate the invite. I'd love to go."

xXx

For the rest of the day, Jubilee functioned. She did her work, finished her report, trained in the Danger Room, and ate. All this she did, but not with any type of passion. Her mind was too busy working.

Dawn had looked so alone.

Jubilee didn't understand it. That's what was bothering her. Dawn had practically stolen her friends, became fast friends to the teachers, and had Scott waiting on her hand and foot. Yet, there was still something sad about the girl.

Maybe it was because she was still mourning; crying for the sister she had lost. It was also possible it was because she was the only non-mutant on campus.

By the time evening came, Jubilee hadn't come any closer in her deduction. The only conclusion she had reached was that she was going to have fun at the _The Crash_ tonight. No matter what. Nothing, from ignorant humans to the teachers finding out, was going to stop her.

At the moment, Jubilee and Dawn were both up in their room getting ready. Dawn let her long hair fall in dark messy waves while Jubilee threw in some products to give her short hair the messy bedroom look. Jubilee grinned at her own knee high boots, short black skirt, and thin yellow tank top complete with a fake flower designed on the strap, while silently appraising Dawn's mid-calf brown boots, low cut jeans, and brown halter top. At least her roommate had good style.

A knock at their window caught both girls' attention. With a smile on her face, Dawn jogged over and opened it. Remy Lebeau stuck his head in and grinned, "Ya comin'? We ain't waitin' on ya two _filles_ f'rever."

"Sure thing," Dawn turned to Jubilee, "Ready to fly the coup?"

Jubilee nodded and headed towards the window, "Door's locked, light's out, pillows and stuffed animals in place, and favorite body mist sprayed on beds just in case," Jubilee grinned at the two, "We're ready!" she proclaimed.

Remy grinned back before his head disappeared. Dawn climbed out onto the tree after him and Jubilee after her. The climb down was easy enough. Jubilee having snuck out of this room a myriad of times, and Dawn having snuck out of a house occupied by the Slayer , made this little excursion easy enough.

The three met up with Bobby and Kitty, who were waiting outside of the Institute's property.

Dawn knew that Rogue and Piotr had both declined, but it still bugged her as to why. Sure, Piotr was shy and everything, but he really didn't seem to be pleased when they told him their plan. Probably one of those teenagers who don't enjoy deceiving their guardians once in a while.

Which Dawn so didn't get.

Rogue on the other hand was a complete mystery to Dawn. Sure, the girl was nice enough. Hell, she was incredibly fun, but there was this sort of distance to her. It felt familiar to Dawn. Like she was an outsider to this large group and had the weight of the world on her shoulders. She kinda reminded Dawn of Buffy. But only in that 'weight of the world thing no one else could possibly understand' kinda way.

The group of teenagers had managed to sneak out beyond the security gate, courtesy of Remy Lebeau, and head out to the town. Dawn had almost thought they were going to walk the whole way, but had been pleasantly surprised when they came to Remy's hidden car.

Dawn didn't know much about cars, but as Remy spouted off about the engine, Dawn had a feeling it was a pretty good car. He puffed out his chest and everything.

They all piled in and drove into town. What would have been a good hour on foot was only fifteen maybe twenty minutes by car. Remy parked it a couple blocks away and led the four towards the club. Dawn found it amusing how he had taken charge of their little outing. The club was much like _The Bronze_, it allowed those sixteen years and older inside (Remy bribed the bouncer to let her and Jubilee in), as long as those under twenty-one wore a stamp.

This was another thing Dawn found endlessly amusing. Of all the clubs in New York, this is the one they wanted to go to. Since when were the good clubs allowing minors inside?

Dawn half expected this place to be filled with a bunch of teenage wannabes. She was once again pleasantly surprised to find that it was crowded with a wide range of ages, much like _The Bronze_ had been. It ranged between High Schoolers and college students.

"All right!" Kitty sang happily, "C'mon!" Kitty hooked her arm with Remy's and pulled him out onto the dance floor, "Let's dance!"

A smile lit up Dawn's face and she glanced at Jubilee before heading after the two. Dawn laughed as Bobby joined in the group dance with an exuberant leap, Jubilee following behind him. For the next three songs, the five of them danced innocently together before Dawn and Kitty both grew tired and headed off to find them a table. They were all occupied.

It hadn't taken too long though. Kitty was very good at the flirting thing. She found two guys sitting at a table, pulled Dawn over, and the two girls flirted like there was no tomorrow. Dawn was actually having a lot of fun.

The sudden weight on her shoulders caused her to stiffen and look up in surprise. Remy had sidled up to them, easily draped his arm around her and Kitty, and armed himself with one of the most charming smiles Dawn had ever seen. Normally, one would expect the sunglasses in such a low lighted club to raise some suspicious eyebrows, but somehow Remy managed to pull it off unquestionably well.

Jubilee and Bobby eventually managed to make their way over. The five slowly began to exclude the two boys from their conversations. By the time they left, Dawn was too involved in the discussion about peas and Cheez-its to notice. The guys weren't that cute anyway.

At one point, between all the dancing and joking, Dawn and Jubilee both ended up resting at their table alone. They sat there in awkward silence as they watched their friends dance with strangers and each other.

Trying to make some sort of polite talk that would be interesting to both of them, Dawn glanced at Jubilee, "So... why didn't Rogue or Piotr come?" at Jubilee's surprised look, Dawn clarified, "I didn't exactly get that."

"Uh..."

At Jubilee's hesitation, Dawn began to wonder if she should have brought them up at all. Jubilee, for her part, just looked confused. Maybe she didn't know either?

"Piotr's never really been the type to sneak out. He's very Type A," Jubilee bit her lip as she glanced around the large crowd of people on the dance floor, "As for Rogue..." she sighed and shook her head, "it's a Rogue thing. She's... not too big with the crowds."

"Oh," Dawn glanced down at her hands. She didn't know why, but she had expected that to start more of a conversation with her roommate. Could nothing she say make the girl forgive her for her first day here?

"I'm kinda surprised you didn't know that," Jubilee's unexpected response caused Dawn's gaze to snap back to her.

"Huh? Why's that?"

"What with how much you've been hanging out with her and Remy, I just figured they woulda told you certain things."

It was true. Jubilee had noticed just how much Dawn had been hanging around them, laughing, talking. It had driven her insane, but now... Did Dawn really not know about Rogue's mutation? Or did she simply not understand why Rogue had such an aversion to it? Jubilee would have wagered all her money that Dawn had gotten closer to Rogue and Remy than she had.

"We don't usually talk about that serious stuff," Dawn explained, glancing out at the group, "Mainly, Rogue and I talk about books, movies, uh... things like that."

"And Remy?" Jubilee couldn't stop the question from escaping her lips.

"Remy?" Dawn glanced at Jubilee in confusion, but shrugged anyway, "Uh... we talk about card games, board games, he's been trying to teach me poker for like a week and giving me tips on how to bluff. It's not going too well, but I think he finds it amusing more than anything."

"Oh," Jubilee blinked in surprise. She had expected a much different answer. Nothing like that.

"Honestly," Jubilee looked over at Dawn again, silently noting the sad look in the girl's eyes, "with the exception of Scott, the person I've gotten to know the best is Dr. McCoy," she paused, then quickly added, "and Mr. Wagner."

"Hey, you two!"

The two jumped at Bobby's shout. He grinned at them from the dance floor and waved his hand, beckoning them to join the group dancing.

Jubilee slid off her seat, "Let's go."

Dawn blinked, but followed, "OK," there was definitely something different now in the vibe between the two roommates, but Dawn couldn't pin point why.

Dawn jumped out on the dance floor and was surprised when Jubilee began to dance next to her. The entire night, Jubilee had danced on the opposite side of the group. Deciding to take advantage of the new found vibe, Dawn grabbed Jubilee's hand, much like how she had seen Faith do with Buffy, and the two girls danced.

It had been an OK night.

The dancing was a good outlet, and Remy had been looking for any potential prospects he could find, but none of them caught his eye.

Someone else did though.

Remy had noticed the man a few minutes after entering the club. He had ignored him at first, thinking he'd disappear half way through the night, as most these kind of people did. The man hadn't, and was in fact still there. The man stared back at him mercilessly.

What had bugged Remy though was that he had been eying Dawn and Jubilee earlier. When the girls came back out onto the dance floor, Remy watched as the strange man eyed them for the next two songs. With a deep frown, Remy found himself pulling away from the group and heading towards the bar.

The man waited patiently as Remy sidled up next to him. Remy didn't even bother to pretend to have a different agenda. He walked up to the bar, leaned against it, and stared at the man.

A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips and the man turned his full attention to Remy, "Something I can help you with, Corey Heart?"

Remy ignored the reference and frowned, "_Oui_. Ya sure can," Remy rose his chin, "Ya can stop eye ballin' _mes amies_."

The man chuckled, "Straight to the point, eh?" he took a drink of his beer, "Nice to see you ain't dim."

"You gonna tell me why yer watchin' de _filles_?"

The strange man put his drink down on the bar and turned full front to face Remy. The two faced off. Remy's intense eyes not having the effect they usually did on people, even from behind his sunglasses, and the other man's puffed out chest and taller stature screamed bull-headedness. It was basically a stare down. One trying to over power the other without flexing a muscle, without catching the attention of the girls on the dance floor. The electricity seemed to heat up between them as they glared angrily at each other, waiting for the other to give up first.

Suddenly the strange man looked over his shoulder, a frown marring his lips. He glanced back at Remy then at the girls on the dance floor. With an approving nod, the man turned on his heel and silently darted away.

Remy stood there confused.

xXx

The alley was dark and dewy, as most cliché alleys were. It was decorated with dumpsters, empty boxes, and random broken wooden crates. Cats normally occupied this particular alley, enjoying the treat the bartenders left for them in the dumpsters at the end of the night.

This night though, they steered cleared. To say animals had a preternatural sense of danger was stating the obvious. The rats even hid under what they assumed to be safe stable boxes and two by fours, their beady eyes glowing in the dark.

A man walked out of the back door, silently letting it fall close behind him. He glanced to both sides before picking the left and heading towards the open street. He barely batted an eye as another man appeared from around the corner. Whispers were passed, information was given.

Then the two went their separate ways.

Neither of them noticed the man standing on the roof of the low building above them, listening to them.

This wasn't good.


	7. Night Out prt 2

(1)a wolverine in actuality is not a wolf. It's something in the weasel family. Look it up. I think it actually fits Logan perfectly.  
(2)Clarice Ferguson (aka Blink) is a mutant who has the ability to displace matter through a type of teleportation rift. She has no control over it and nothing she teleports comes back properly. She actually killed someone when it first manifested. I might bring her up again later. Still debating. .

Sorry this took sooo long. Knew where I wanted to end this, but it felt sooo short. So I added the part with Scott at the end after debating with myself on how I wanted to start off the next chapter. I think you'll like it! **(Also, I apologize for any typos, especially where letters seem to be missing... my keyboard is sticking and does not like me at the moment...) :( **

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, all I own is this lovely bottle of mountain de... oh crap, I already finished it!

*~*~*~*~*

Sweat drenched her shirt, making it stick to her skin a little more than comfortable. Hot and sticky, Dawn tapped Kitty on the arm and informed her of her plan of action. With a nod and a dismissive wave, Kitty turned back to the strange man she was dancing with. Dawn pushed her way through the crowd until she stumbled through the front entrance. She nodded to the bouncer who glanced her way, then she leaned against the brick wall.

Now, true, a responsible teen would've grabbed a friend and been one with the buddy system, but Dawn honestly wanted to be alone for a few minutes. Plus, she was staying in view of the bouncer, so that was somewhat responsible, right? It's not like she went out the back alley or anything. Buffy used to always talk about the back alleys, it was her version of the ditches their mom always talked about.

Wrapping suddenly cool arms around her sweaty self, Dawn looked around somewhat nervously. The night air was filled with cigarette smoke as intoxicated people threw out their butts and stumbled down the street. Dawn sucked in a breath and tried to get comfortable against the freezing brick wall. It was the beginning of October and already the air was more than chilly. Then again, Dawn grew up in California, what was cold to her was warm to everyone else.

"Hey."

Dawn turned her head and gave a small smile when she saw who it was, "Hey."

Handing his leather jacket over to her, Bobby leaned next to her. He watched silently as she whispered a 'thanks' and slipped it on. A frown formed as he looked up at the inky black sky, "You know, wandering outside by yourself is not the safest action in the world. Especially in New York at this time of night."

Dawn fought an eye roll, "Yeah, well, it was getting a little too crowded in there, ya know?"

"I know the feeling," he muttered more to himself than anyone else.

Dawn stared at him for a moment before she turned her attention to the pitch black sky, not a star to be seen, "I miss Sunnydale."

Bobby looked back at her, a small frown on his lips, before he looked away just as quickly, "Must be hard to leave all your friends behind."

"Or lack thereof," she responded without thought. She stopped short and glanced over at Bobby to see his confused gaze, "I didn't really have any friends. Just my sister's friends and... I guess that doesn't really count," she kicked a pebble with her shoe.

"Sure it does," Bobby said, trying to reassure her. When he saw it wasn't working, he bumped his shoulder against hers, "Well, you got some now."

Dawn looked up at him in surprise. She gave him a small smile, "Thanks," she whispered. Feeling somewhat awkward, she took in a deep breath, "You wanna head in now?"

"Yeah," Bobby answered quickly, obviously feeling the awkwardness. The two headed back inside. Pushing through the crowds, Dawn had to grab Bobby's arm in order to keep up with him and not get lost.

By the time the two managed to see their table, Remy and Kitty were both standing there, looking around, Kitty almost looked panicked. Remy spotted the two first and quickly waved them over.

"What's up?" Dawn chirped as she took a seat.

"Remy saw someone watching us," Kitty said nervously. She continued to look around, as if trying to find this person.

"What do you mean?" Bobby asked, taking his seat next to Dawn.

"Some_ homme_ was watchin' us. Saw a few others watchin' too. I t'ink we either got ourselves some F.O.H. members or some of Magneto's crew."

"Which one are we hoping for?" Dawn questioned innocently, not having a clue as to what he was saying.

"Neither," Bobby answered for the group, and looked around just as nervously as Kitty.

Dawn frowned at the two and looked back over at Remy, "Who exactly are these people?"

"Friends of Humanity are a mutant hatin' group, think of it as our version of de K.K.K. As fer Magneto and his lackeys, dey're de mutants who believe dere more superior den normal humans," Remy answered, watching Dawn carefully, as if waiting for something.

"OK," Dawn muttered, glancing at Bobby and Kitty, "So... where's Jubilee?"

"I've been looking for her," Kitty stated, practically standing on her tip toes now, "I haven't seen her since she started dancing with that one guy."

Three heads snapped towards Kitty, "What guy?!" they all asked.

Kitty looked at them with wide eyes, "I don't know, just some guy. He uh... was a little out of date in his fashion, ya know. He had a popped collar on a silk button shirt, I mean, what was up with that?"

Dawn had to fight a groan, "I know where to look," she grumbled and slid out of her seat. The others exchanged confused looks but followed Dawn to the other side of the club. She opened the door to the alley and cautiously exited.

There stood Jubilee in the middle of the alley, staring at the street. Dawn rushed to the girl and gently touched her shoulder. The young girl jumped and spun around.

"Oh my, God!" Jubilee suddenly burst when she registered them. She then turned and pointed to one end of the alley, "That guy attacked me and someone else totally just jumped him and dragged him out there."

"Wait here," Remy demanded and ran towards the open end of the alley, Bobby trailing after him. The two spun around, obviously trying to find something. They waved the girls over.

"Nothing," Bobby stated with a frown.

"We should get back," Remy continued to look around, but started off in the direction of the car.

No one verbally responded, but followed after the Cajun. Dawn paused a moment and looked down. She kicked the pile of ash with a frown. She looked around again, almost hoping to see a familiar face. Instead what she saw was a young man appear from around the corner behind them, flipping a zippo lighter in his hands.

Dawn made eye contact with the man. They stared at each other for a few moments, before Dawn turned around and rushed after her group. When she caught up she matched their pace and walked between Jubilee and Bobby.

The walk to the car was completely silent. No one spoke a word to each other, each one wrapped up in their own thoughts. Dawn bit her bottom lip and contemplated the scenario she had just missed. The ash, the out of date clothing... it was all part of a very simple equation in Dawn's book. Who saved Jubilee though? Was it the guy with the lighter? Some of those rogue vampire hunters she had heard about? The one question she was hoping the answer was yes to she didn't dare ask or even think about. It would just jinx it.

Dawn's eyes unconsciously flew up to Bobby who was sitting in the front passenger seat, "You should wear your seatbelt," the words flew out automatically and monotonous. Everyone looked back at her.

Ice-y blue eyes blinked in surprise. Bobby wordlessly grabbed his seatbelt and pulled it over his chest and into the buckle. Something about the simple, wordless action made Dawn pleased.

Less then five minutes later, Dawn was even more pleased he had listened when Remy did a screeching swerve to miss a woman standing in the middle of the street. That plus the illogical way the car seemed to topple over and land upside down, made Dawn extremely pleased everyone was wearing their seatbelts.

Aside from the fact that they were all now stuck upside down.

Smoke invaded her nostrils. A hacking cough tore through Dawn's throat as she slowly began to shake away her daze. Without thought, Dawn's hand reached for her seat belt and tried, without avail, to free herself. Still coughing, Dawn tried to relieve some of the tension on the belt and used one hand to push against the ceiling, while the other undid the buckle.

She crashed to the ground.

Glass cut her skin even as she rolled onto her back. She let out a small groan and blinked her bleary vision away. The first thing she noticed was an unconscious Jubilee and Kitty hanging above her. The next thing she noticed was the blood on Kitty's shoulder and the small trickle of blood dripping from Jubilee's head.

She heard a similar crash behind her.

"_Soleil_?"

"Present," she croaked out. She reached up and grabbed one of Jubilee's hands, "Jubes," she shook the girl, "wake up..."

"_Zut_!"

Dawn suddenly heard a scrambling noise, as Remy crawled out of his window, "C'mon, _mon petite soleili_, we gotta go."

"What?" Dawn tried to turn and winced. Maybe moving around on broken glass was not such a good idea, "What about them?"

"Ain't got time," Dawn felt a his gloved hand grab her wrist and he began to pull her out of the car, ignoring her cries of pain on the glass, "Only way we can help is by making sure we get outta here."

When Remy pulled Dawn up to her feet, she saw what was making him so nervous. The woman was striding over towards them, a devilish smile on her lips. Behind her was a large, catlike man beast. He too had a feral grin. Or a grimace. Dawn really couldn't distinguish which.

"Leaving so soon, Lebeau?" the beast man's speech was slightly slurred. Either his fangs made it difficult for him to talk, or he was a little drunk. Dawn was so hoping for the drunk.

"Sorry, _mon ami velu_," Remy replied lightly, as if neither he nor Dawn had been in a car wreck and were now bleeding, "Got ot'er plans. Involves a girl, some whiskey, and t'ings a gentleman never tells."

"Funny," he growled.

The woman took a step forward and held out her hand. Dawn suddenly felt very dizzy and stumbled next to Remy. Luckily, he had excellent balance and caught her easily. His arms were tight around her shoulders and he moved the two of them backwards slowly. Dawn almost wanted to beg him to stop moving. Each step made her feel worse.

Suddenly, he spun them around and pulled led her away in a mad dash. It was everything Dawn could do to not trip.

They didn't get very far.

Earlier, Dawn had spotted a guy with a lighter. He was in front of them now, looking to all the world like he knew something they didn't. Dawn's eyes grew wide as he quite literally pulled fire from his zippo.

Remy pulled out a playing card.

Dawn had half a mind to run. Normally, she would have followed that instinct (Buffy had done very well in teaching her little sister about following instincts), normally she would have run the moment Remy shouted at her to get out of there.

Alas, luck was not with the Summers once again.

Just as she went to move, a pair or strong – if not flabby – arms wrapped around her from behind and pinned her arms to her side. He also cut off her air supply. Oh, Dawn struggled. She struggled like only a Summers woman could, but that just made it all the more worse. Just as her vision began to haze, Dawn kept her eyes locked on the still Remy. His head was down and his eyes were locked on his card on the ground.

Green dazed and confused eyes landed on the Queen of Hearts.

'Who's fighting?' Dawn wondered.

Her vision went black.

"_Je suis très désolé, tout le monde_."

*~*~*~*~*  
_  
BANG! BANG!_

Jolting into an up right position, Scott kept his eyes firmly squeezed shut. He grumbled a curse mildly as his bedroom door burst open with a sound that would have startled most people. After a split second of contemplation on whether or not he should open his eyes now or wait until he actually had his sunglasses on, Scott instinctively reached for them on top of the nightstand.

"Now ain't the time to be sleepin', bud," Wolverine's voice growled in the night.

"Really?" Scott glanced at his alarm clock, and inwardly cursed Logan, "'Cause my sources tell me that 3am is the perfect time to be asleep."

"And it ain't time to be a smart ass. Buncha the kids snuck out."

Scott could feel Logan's eyes trained on him as he calmly pushed aside his covers and reached for a shirt. Friday night, no training on Saturday morning, in a house full of teenagers... it wasn't that odd for them to sneak out once in a while.

"Your cousin's with 'em."

Scott fought down a groan. Couldn't she have waited to do this... never? With a glare in Logan's direction, Scott followed the shorter man into the hall and into the living room. He had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, Logan had to go and disturb someone else's beauty sleep.

Ororo was already there, looking as tired as he felt. The Goddess looked up at him and smiled tiredly before doing a double take and allowing a large grin to spread on her lips. This time she was staring at his hair.

Summers just frowned and patted it down in a sorry attempt to make it look less wild. He wasn't too worried about it at the moment.

"Alright," Scott fought down a yawn and fell back onto the couch, next to Storm, "What do we know?"

"We know that five brats are missin'. That's what we know," Logan's deep growl resonated across the room.

Scott just glared at him.

Ororo rose an elegant eyebrow and pulled her robe a little tighter, "They're children, Logan. They more than likely wanted to have some fun. A party or a club is not that far of a reach. They will bring themselves home before morning. Then we will give them the proper punishment."

"But de morning iz in _zwei_ hours!"

Everyone glanced up and Scott had to fight yet another irritated gesture. Kurt was hanging from the feeling, looking to all the world like a worried bat. Just how many people did Logan wake up before he gave in and woke him up?

"Demon boy's right," Logan grunted, "Kids'll be kids, but even Gumbo'd make sure they'd be home at a decent hour," he pulled out a cigar and stuck it between his lips, "I'm gonna look for 'em."

Suddenly, images of an angry and pissed off Logan scaring his little cousin entered Scott's mind. Deciding he best shield her from the man's wrath, he let out a deep heavy sigh and pushed himself onto his feet, "I'll go with you."

"No offense, _one eye_," Wolverine groused out, obviously meaning the exact opposite, "but I'll be faster on my own."

"No offense, _weasel_(1)," Scott practically growled back. He had had enough of this man's self serving personality, "but I--"

"Oh, by the _Goddess_!"

All three men turned to the only woman in the room. She too had stood and now had her hands firmly planted on her hips. Ororo sent a spine chilling glare towards the two alpha males, "We can watch your battle of testosterone later. Rogue, on the other hand, may very well know where they are. We should just ask her."

It was 5 am.

If none of them was seriously injured, Rogue was going to fix that problem. Violently. Probably with a sharp object. Or maybe dull objects. Eh, anything heavy was actually pretty good. There you go! Blunt heavy objects! Much more fun!

Rogue wiped the sleep from her eyes as she flopped back onto the couch. Inwardly, she winced at the feel of her gloved hand first thing in the morning. Outwardly, she fought back a yawn, "Uhhmmm... Ah think Kit said somethin' 'bout the crush or the crash. Not really sure."

Scott nodded, "_The Crash_. It's a club that opened up about three months ago. One group tends to sneak out every month to see that place," thinking back on it, Scott began to wonder if maybe the students had all gotten together and formed some sort of schedule so they wouldn't all sneak out at once.

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise him.

He could definitely see Clarice Ferguson(2) leading it. The chart, markers, hell, even color coding was possible. The girl may be rebellious, but damned if she didn't love her organization.

Rogue frowned and glanced at the clock behind her. She knew Remy. He would at the very least do everything he could possibly do to get everyone home by sunrise. He may disappear from the face of the earth for days at a time, but he would never do that with another person, especially a student. That she definitely knew for sure.

"Half an hour 'til sunrise," Rogue murmured to herself.

Everyone jumped at the banging on the front door. Before anyone moved, a man's voice rang loud and clear:

_"Somebody better hurry up and open the bleeding door!" _


End file.
